Luxury car stuck in the sand at an Auckland beach

Onlookers were stunned when a pricey luxury car got stuck in the sand at an Auckland beach.

Local Kelsey Smaill said he noticed an Audi A7 stuck on Kohimarama Beach in the city's eastern suburbs about 2.20pm on Friday.

"I was just walking along, I was going for a walk, and then they started driving along the sand. They kept on going and got stuck and then got deeper and deeper.

"They got stuck in the middle of Kohi Beach, and they were there for probably a good hour and a half."

Mr Smaill said he believed the AA helped the two men get the car back on the road.

He believed the owners were trying to photograph the car but was shocked they would take an expensive car onto the beach.

An Auckland Council spokeswoman said driving on Kohimarama Beach was prohibited under the Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw 2013.

Under the bylaw, a person was not allowed to drive, ride, propel, wheel or park any vehicle on a beach, except in the case of an emergency, or with the prior written approval of the council.

The restriction did not apply to anyone driving a vehicle by a direct route at a speed limit of 10 km/h on a beach where access was permitted, to launch or recover a boat in the water.

However, every vehicle had to be removed from the beach immediately after launching or recovering the boat.