A flash car with a big motor is not just the object of male desire - women too are more attracted to a man in a high-status car, according to a new psychological study.
Research by psychologists at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, claims that women found the a man "significantly more attractive" when at the wheel of a silver Bentley Continental GT than when seated with the same posture and expression in the driver's seat of a red Ford Fiesta ST.
However, men faced with the same test, looking at a woman of similar attractiveness to the male model, did not appear to be influenced by the car she was in.
The study concluded that "males were not influenced by status manipulation", and that the findings supported previous "status enhancement of attractiveness studies".
Lead researcher Dr Michael Dunn told the Scotsman: "In the past, women were very restricted economically and tied to men for financial security, but in recent years, through female emancipation, they have become independently wealthy with access to their own financial security.
"But what you find is that there is still a preference for wealthy males, which suggests that these preferences are evolutionary, rather than social factors."
