US police are reportedly investigating claims of diplomatic immunity by one of two Qatari drivers caught speed-racing in a Beverly Hills neighbourhood on Saturday.

The Qataris were filmed driving luxury supercars at more than 100mph round the quiet residential streets, running stop signs, narrowly missing other cars and even sideswiping each other on one occasion, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

The supercars – a bright yellow Ferrari LaFerrari though to be worth at least $1 million and a white Porsche 911 GT3 estimated to cost $130,400 – both had Qatari number plates.

The race only came to an end when the Ferrari began smoking and pulled into the drive of a $10 million, five-bedroom rented home, the report said.

Police officers arrived shortly after, acting on tip-offs from anxious local residents, but were told by the Ferrari driver that he had diplomatic immunity.

This is a form of legal immunity granted to diplomats and sometimes royal family members to ensure they are given safe passage without vulnerability to the host country’s laws. However, they can still be deported.

The driver claimed he owned the cars but denied speeding, running stop signs and driving recklessly.

Several local residents said the driver, who reportedly moved into the area a few months ago, often used the streets as a race track and they feared for their safety.

One neighbour, named in the report as Roya Levian, claimed her 10-year-old son Ashton had been playing in the road when the cars raced by him, and that he had been “too scared to go home” in case he was hit.

“The kids were terrified and the neighbours were out and this woman was screaming ‘cause her husband almost got run over.” she was quoted as saying.

And video journalist Jacob Rogers said one of the two drivers confronted him while he was filming the incident.

“He told me verbatim, ‘I could have you killed and get away with it’.

“I told him, ‘The press is allowed to be here on the sidewalk on a public street.’ He said, ‘F*** America’ and threw a cigarette at me.’

The Beverly Hills Police Department and United States State Department did not make any arrests and are now investigating the driver’s alleged diplomatic status and the legality of the vehicles, according to the newspaper.