Luxury French designer, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has won a bidding war for Ford’s Aston Martin brand, according to Autobild, the German car magazine.

Ford has declined to comment on speculation, but did not deny that its luxury sports car brand had been sold.

Ford Motor Company will reportedly retain 15% interest in Aston Martin when Louis Vuitton takes over.

(Update: Motor Trend, the American auto magazine, has claimed that Autobild's sources are wrong and Aston has not been sold to Luis Vuitton. Motor Trend's own sources say the real buyer is an unknown group of wealthy businessmen. Well that clears that up then.)

It is expected an official comment will be released soon.