Shocking moment Mercedes-driving thug rams down SUV before beating on the window with a HAMMER

Frightening footage shows the moment brazen thieves rammed a SUV onto the sidewalk and stole $20,000 in cash from its driver at gunpoint on Manhattan’s Upper East Side – a bizarre heist that has left police searching for the still-at large suspects.

The dramatic scene shocked bystanders on Second Avenue between 91 and 92 streets around 4:40 pm Saturday, when two cars came speeding down the wrong side of the road against traffic, in an apparent high-speed chase.

The video clip captured by a bystander shows the car being driven by the victim, a Silver Toyota Rav-4, zooming down the avenue at high speeds, before it is overtaken by black Mercedes-Benz being driven by the assailants, which slams into the SUV.

Still hitting the gas, the suspects continue to accelerate and ram the Toyota, causing it to spin out as its driver continues to try to get away.

At that point, the Mercedes driver again steps on the gas and pushes the other car up onto the sidewalk, where another chase ensued, causing bystanders who flocked to the scene to flee and jump out of the way.

Both vehicles then move off the sidewalk into an adjacent bus lane, where the Mercedes again gives chase and rams the Toyota a second time, again turning it 180 degrees – this time forcing it to a stop, the video shows.

A man armed with a handgun then exits the passenger side of the Mercedes, approaches the other vehicle, and is seen banging on the glass with the weapon, menacing the driver – who cops believe knew the assailants.

That’s when police say the thief snatched a stack of cash to the tune of $20,000, before jumping back inside the Mercedes and driving off. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident – and the suspects as of Sunday morning are still at-large.

The clip shows the car being driven by the victim, a Silver Toyota Rav-4, zooming down the street at high speeds, before it is overtaken by a black Mercedes being driven by the assailants

Still hitting the gas, the suspects continue to accelerate and ram the Toyota, which was being driven by a 55-year-old man who potentially knew the still at-large suspects 

The Benz then slams into the SUV, causing it to spin out as its driver continues to try to escape 

At that point, the Mercedes driver again steps on the gas and pushes the car onto the sidewalk 

The robbery transpired in broad daylight in Manhattan’s largely residential Upper East Side – and was the most recent in a string of incidents amid the city’s current crime wave

Pictured is one of the still-at-large suspects, armed with the handgun he would eventually brandish at the victim

‘He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun!’ an onlooker can be heard shouting in the clip, which has been widely shared on social media since the brazen broad daylight attack.

NYPD officials added that the armed robbers ditched the banged-up Mercedes a few blocks from the crime scene, which was quickly recovered by officers roughly five blocks away, on East 86 Street near Third Avenue.

Photos show the damage sustained to the hood of the luxury vehicle from the repeated ramming. 

Once on the sidewalk, another brief chase ensued, causing bystanders who flocked to the scene to watch the action to flee and jump out of the way

Both vehicles then move off the sidewalk into an adjacent bus lane, where the Mercedes again gives chase and rams the Toyota a second time

The second impact again saw the  180 degrees – this time forcing it to a stop, the video shows.

One bystander, 48-year-old January Cotrel, told the Daily News Saturday evening that the second slam from the Mercedes caused the much larger Toyota’s tire to pop, leaving the victim a sitting duck for the robbers. 

Cotrel told the paper: The Toyota couldn’t ‘run anywhere.’

Upon being stopped the second time, another witness said, the Toyota driver, who police did not identify, stepped out of his car with his hands up.

‘Then one guy got out [of the Mercedes],’ said 22-year-old deli worker Nour, who witnessed the incident while working at Yorkville Deli and Market across the street. 

The armed man then snatched a bag from inside the car, witnesses told The News – a bag the victim later said contained $20,000 in cash.

Nour said the victim – who police did not identify but said likely knew his assailants – was left stunned by the incident.

‘The guy was in shock — he cannot say nothing. He was just standing in his place,’ Nour said of the victim, who told him afterward the bag contained cash. ‘At first when, when he saw the gun… He got out and he put his hands up.’