The rumours are true - someone has paid a world record figure for a car this month.
Auction house RM Sotheby's has confirmed it sold a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe for £115 million ($144m), making it the most expensive car on the planet.
It was sold to a private collector - with the winning bid placed on their behalf by a British classic car expert - at a top-secret auction hosted at Mercedes' museum in Germany on 5 May and exceeds the previous record amount paid for a motor vehicle by a staggering £63 million ($79m).
RM Sotheby's said the car, which is one of two created in 1955, has 'always been regarded as one of the great jewels of motoring history' and its sale is a monumental moment with few ever imagining that it would be offered to a private buyer by the German manufacturer.
It had always been assumed that Mercedes would never part with one of its most cherished machines from the company's collection, which is considered the 'Mona Lisa' of cars because of its rarity, racing pedigree, beauty and unavailability.