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| Aston Martin Cygnet |
The most exclusive Aston Martin ever rolled into James Bond HQ - at Dalton Square in central London, left.
It was the first time the supercar has been seen on UK roads.
The One-77 - which will cost an eye-watering £1.2million - left punters shaken and stirred when it took part in a supercar run from London to Silverstone.
The run was designed to promote the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship.
The One-77, which is the first production-ready example made by Aston, will undoubtedly be Bond's car when Daniel Craig appears in the next flick.
The Aston One-77 is powered by a 7-litre V12 engine, which produces around 700bhp.
Aston Martin Cygnet
Aston reckons it can make up to 4,000 Cygnets a year, selling them to existing owners and charging up to £30,000 a pop.
Aston Martin Cygnet Let's be quite clear here, this is a reworked Toyota iQ which non-Aston owners might choose to purchase at a mere £9,974 from their local Toyota dealer.
As my old nan used to say, "There's none so stupid as folks."
Aston Martin is swaddling a lowly Toyota iQ in leather and giving it a grin like the Cheshire Cat. Aston calls it the world’s first luxury urban commuter. We call it an idea so crazy it might just work.
The Cygnet is all grille and no go, given that it sports the same 1-liter three-cylinder engine as the 56-mpg Toyota iQ. And though the baby Aston is just a concept at this point, a company insider tells the Telegraph it could see production by the end of next year. Look for a production run of around 4,000 a year, with sales limited to existing Aston Martin owners. The idea is those well-heeled souls will drive the Cygnet around town and save the DB9 Volante or One-77 for the weekends.
The Cygnet could have its coming out party at the Geneva auto show in March. As is the case with all the coolest cars, we probably won’t see it here in America. We’ll be stuck with that ugly boy-racer version of the iQ sporting a Scion badge.
Photos: Aston Martin. More after the jump.
Just look at it. Don't you just want to pinch its little cheeks?
(Credit: Aston Martin)Aston Martin has released photos of its upcoming Cygnet subcompact. We've seen this one before, but now it's completed and ready to roll. The Cygnet is based on the Toyota iQ city car, but with the face and accoutrement of a DB9. Unfortunately, I'm also fairly certain that there will be no power upgrades to go with the visual refresh.
Inside, the Cygnet retains, for the most part, the iQ's cabin layout, but with a slathering of Aston Martin leather and a few glossy black bits. One new feature is an iPod Touch cradle mounted in the center of the dashboard. It looks a bit precariously mounted, but with only a 97hp 1.3-liter engine turning the wheels, we don't think that excessive Gs are something a Cygnet driver will have to worry about.
Why go through the trouble of making something so absurd? Well, the Cygnet/iQ's low 120g/km of CO2 should pull Aston's fleet average emissions down to something more in line with the European standards.
Pricing hasn't been announced, but the general consensus points toward the $32,000 mark, which to be frank, is a bit much for a city car. But with Aston Martin levels of ultraluxury and Toyota-grade reliability, perhaps Aston Martin will sell its estimated 2,000 units per year.
The Aston Martin Cygnet goes on sale in late 2010 in Europe only.
Aston Martin is swaddling a lowly Toyota iQ in leather and giving it a grin like the Cheshire Cat. Aston calls it the world’s first luxury urban commuter. We call it an idea so crazy it might just work.
The Cygnet is all grille and no go, given that it sports the same 1-liter three-cylinder engine as the 56-mpg Toyota iQ. And though the baby Aston is just a concept at this point, a company insider tells the Telegraph it could see production by the end of next year. Look for a production run of around 4,000 a year, with sales limited to existing Aston Martin owners. The idea is those well-heeled souls will drive the Cygnet around town and save the DB9 Volante or One-77 for the weekends.
The Cygnet could have its coming out party at the Geneva auto show in March. As is the case with all the coolest cars, we probably won’t see it here in America. We’ll be stuck with that ugly boy-racer version of the iQ sporting a Scion badge.
Aston Martin.
Dubbed the 'new luxury commuter concept car', and based on the Toyota iQ, the newcomer will lack the performance that Aston Martin customers have come to expect over the firm's 94-year history.
But what it lacks in bare-chested machismo it will make up for with low emissions from its one-litre engine and with its high degree of suitability for urban motoring.
The new car will boast a five-star EuroNCAP safety rating and it is thought it will share the current iQ three-cylinder petrol engine.
As the pictures reveal, the Cygnet will be embellished with a sporty grille, bespoke alloy wheels and a luxury interior as well, of course, as the elegant Aston Martin badge.
The firm has said that it will be sold only to existing Aston Martin customers, who, it is envisaged, will use it as a 'green' run-around while reserving their supercars, such as the DB9 or Vantage, for longer journeys. The firm aims to sell around 4,000 a year.
An insider said: "We are relatively confident the concept will go into production". If it does, it will go on sale towards the end of 2010.
According to the company, the urban runabout is called Cygnet and “will offer customers a distinctive, intelligent and exclusive solution for urban travel in style and luxury.”
Left Lane News.com reports that Toyota will send IQs to Aston Martin in England, and Aston Martin will customize them with an Aston Martin grille and a reworked interior. The car’s powertrain will remain unchanged.
Although Aston Martin issued no details, the Cygnet could have one or more of these powertrains: a one-liter, 3-cylinder gasoline engine teamed with a 5–speed manual transmission; a 1.4-liter, 4-cylinder diesel engine teamed with a 6-speed manual transmission and a 1.3-liter, 4-cylinder gasoline engine teamed with either a six-speed manual shifter or a continuously variable automatic transmission.
The tiny IQ is approximately 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and less than 5 feet tall. Slightly larger than a Smart commuter car, it holds up to four adults but, according to Edmunds.com, they better not be taller than 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
Dr. Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin chief executive, said: “Now is the right time for Aston Martin to take this first bold step to embark on this special project - made possible with the support of an organization of Toyota’s stature and capability and the intelligent design and perfect city car package of the iQ.
“Much work is still required, but I am confident that this project could become reality in the not too distant future.”
In an embarrassingly desperate move by struggling supercar-maker Aston Martin, the Kuwaiti-owned British company has developed a new luxury commuter concept, dubbed the Cygnet. Named after a baby swan, the mini-car directly bases itself on the Euro-spec Toyota iQ, but with a slant towards more luxury.
The Cygnet concept “represents a creative, environmentally conscious solution, being small, yet with presence – and highly fuel efficient, now combined with the prestige of Aston Martin’s luxury brand ownership.”
While still in concept form, the Cygnet should not be mistaken for a joke. It is Aston Martin’s attempt to branch out beyond the realm of overpriced sports cars, much like Porsche, but in a completely different direction.
If it comes into production, it will compete with Mercedes-Benz’s Smart ForTwo and even BMW’s Mini, although it remains to be seen how many confused people there are who will pay top dollar for a redone Toyota iQ economy car.
