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This year marks the 50th anniversary of Sean Connery's first utterance of that famous line "The name's Bond, James Bond" in Dr. No. Fitting then, that according to latest research 007 would have to fork out £50,000 (or just over €61,000) to insure the 3.0-litre V6 diesel Jaguar XJ L that he drives in the upcoming Skyfall.
Stuff Magazine in the UK contacted Churchill Insurance (yes, it of the annoying nodding dog) to get a quote for Bond and were told that, assuming 007 lives in the SW3 region of Chelsea, London - as per the Ian Fleming books - is between the ages of forty and fifty and has zero no claims bonus, Mr Bond's insurance premium would be £50,000 - or about the same price as the car itself.
"This is based on a 40 year old civil servant living in SW3 driving a highly modified (guns, ejector seats, invisibility) Jaguar XJ L, single driver, zero no claims discount due to many Aston Martin write-offs, excessive traffic offences ranging from speeding, dangerous driving and running traffic lights to talking on a mobile. High mileage and danger to other road users are also considered."
Considering his tendency to write off expensive cars including numerous Aston Martin DB5s and the only convertible 2000GT that Toyota produced (because Sean Connery was too tall to fit in the coupé version), the premium does not look that bad if you ask us.