Aston Martin Cygnet launch editions
Aston Martin confirms details of its Toyota iQ based city car. It costs three times as much...
Aston Martin has officially launched its Cygnet city car. Based on the titchy Toyota iQ, it?s a big departure from the V12 supercars and continent-crushing GTs we?re used to from Aston, and the controversy it has caused among car enthusiasts has reflected this.
Rather than being designed as a sales-grabbing supermini to rival the Mini Cooper, Fiat 500 et al, it is ? for now at least ? effectively an optional extra to select when buying an Aston Martin coupe, saloon or roadster, to serve as a second car. Its bespoke nature and price reflect this ? a standard Cygnet costs ?30,995 while the Snow White and Magic Black launch editions pictured here are ?39,995, more than three times as much as an equivalent iQ, which weighs in at ?12,515.
The Cygnet does get 100 hours of ?handcrafting? at Aston Martin?s Gaydon facility though, with work centring around producing a more luxurious interior (complete with its own five-piece luggage set in the launch cars) and ?Astoning? up the exterior, with styling flourishes from the company?s sports cars, including the more dramatic grille, some faux bonnet vents and diamond turned alloy wheels. The iQ?s 97bhp 1.33-litre engine remains untouched and can be mated to six-speed manual or CVT automatic gearbox options. 0-62mph takes 11.8sec and the top speed is a modest 106mph.
The target is to sell around 1500 Cygnets annually in Europe, and Aston says it has already received 200 orders, with a further 600 sales leads. Order books are open now, and deliveries begin in April.