The man and his machine: Pierce Brosnan, who plays Bond, and an Aston Martin

London, Aug. 14 (AFP): Cliche or not, the James Bond “007” franchise continues to be held in high esteem as regards sex appeal in Britain, and this extends to the car most closely associated with the celebrated spy.

Aston Martin drivers, numbering various Bonds from the movies among them, are considered the sexiest according to a British motor insurer survey released today.

Drivers of Ferraris follow in second place, with BMW Z4 drivers the third sexiest, a survey from motor insurer firstalternative.Com found.

Among 1,005 adults questioned for the survey, 65 per cent reckon open-top cars are not as sexy as hard tops, while 25 per cent say the right wheels add to a person’s sex appeal.

A third of motorists aged 18 to 24 consider how sexy they will look in a vehicle before buying one ? black is considered the sexiest colour for a car.

On the other end, Robin Reliant drivers are believed to have the least amount of sex appeal, and Ford Escorts, Austin Allegros and Skodas are also considered to be rather unsexy choices.