Mr Cranshaw said the victim put up a valiant effort, screaming for help and hitting her assailant.
"At one point the victim has scratched his eyes and the attacker has then began screaming before getting back into his car and driving off with his two rear seat companions south along SH1 towards Cambridge."
He said the woman was "shaken" and went to a pizza store where police were then called.
Mr Cranshaw said investigators hoped some distinctive elements of the offender's description, and that of his car, may help identify the man responsible.
The attacker was described as a dark-skinned male aged in his mid-to-late 20s with an Indian accent.
He was wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt, shorts, sunglasses and his black hair with blond tips was tied up.
His car was described as a late model dark or black sedan with tinted rear windows.
"We have no description for the two men in the back seat but police would certainly like to speak to them in relation to their role in this cowardly attack and why they did not intervene," Mr Cranshaw said.
Anyone with any information either on the incident or who may be able to identify the attacker is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Nick O'Brien on 07 858 6200 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
