Aston Martin has thrown everything it could at the city-car Cygnet model while coming dangerously close to the absurd. With all the talk of luxury and custom build and options, we finally get to see just how Aston Martin is jazzing up its Toyota iQ models to make them look more Aston and less like a Japanese urban commuter.

We were never convinced and probably never will be, but the iQ is looking dapper in its new Cygnet robes. If you really want to get into the spirit of things, you can even polish up the Cygnet as if it were the smaller handbag to your bigger Aston suitcase; matching the same colour schemes and options as the bigger model you’ve got sitting in your garage as your Sunday (more pollutant?) drive.

We’ve no doubt the Aston Martin Cygnet is an example of quality workmanship, we’re just having some difficulty fitting it into our romanticised view of the British car manufacturer. Hop on over to the Cygnet configurator to play around.

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The new Aston Martin Cygnet will get black and white launch editions as the first models available to existing Aston customers who want the luxury citycar as an urban pocket version of the real (and bigger) thing. The White and Black Cygnet will have the overall colour finish both inside and out. The white version gets bright chrome features on the inside and a completely white interior, while the black version gets a matt black exterior and totally dark interior.

It seems that Aston is doing its best to keep up with appearances on the maniacal attention to detail on the interior. According to plates on the door sills, the lot is “handcrafted in England” and there is plenty of leather, double stitching and an Alcantara roof lining. The wheels are 16-inch, diamond turned, and other features include keyless entry and a five-piece Bill Amberg luggage set. We’re still not convinced that many Aston Martin customers will want one of these, but the company has certainly done the hard work in making it plush.

Aston Martin Cygnet: White and Black launch edition

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According to Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez, the Aston Martin Cygnet will become a cult icon. It’s a big claim for a small, rebadged and tarted-up Toyota iQ but if Aston continues its marketing drive of the Aston experience on the Cygnet too, they might just pull this off. We need no convincing about the luxury and exclusive status of any Aston, citycar or not, but we’ve got our doubts that the Cygnet will ever be considered a real Aston. Unless it makes a cameo appearance in a James Bond film and then we might reconsider.

The claims from Bez come from an interview with the Automobilwoche publication in which he reinforces that Aston Martin is independent and profitable. He says the company won’t be looking for an industrial partner, stating: “My investors are happy.” Specifically on the Cygnet, Bez goes so far as to say it’s “inconoclastic”: “The Cygnet is exclusive and bears an exclusive brand name.”

We got that part but we’re not convinced about iconoclastic… yet.

Source | Automotive News

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“Cygnet is a small, luxurious Aston Martin, tailor-fit for the city.” When looked at this way, the Aston Martin Cygnet makes sense, even though the company has had to produce something that would even out overall emissions across the range. Still, there’s no saying that this won’t necessarily be a success. Despite being based on the much humbler Toyota iQ, the Cygnet is going to have plenty of Aston luxury and personalisation options for customers. We can see Aston owners bundling off to work with the Cygnet.

In fact, we wonder if Aston hasn’t done something very clever here. For a start they haven’t had to invest in building their own citycar from scratch. In borrowing the Toyota iQ, the can use someone else’s tried and true platform and then build on that with all the Aston Martin product they can get their hands on. They say: “The customer will have exactly the same experience purchasing a Cygnet as they would purchasing a Rapide or a DB9.” It won’t be quite the same Aston as other models, but if there is substance behind the marketing talk, Aston could be onto a winner with its current customers.

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It’s a bitter pill to swallow for many Aston Martin fans, seeing the Cygnet go into production. While Aston Martin has does its best to create a citycar with an Aston feel, it’s tough to see a sports, performance brand with a luxury heritage resorting to a Toyota iQ import to reduce overall fleet CO2 emissions.

Many performance car makers are finding alternative solutions to reduce overall carbon footprints in the face of new, strict EU laws regarding pollution levels, and this is Aston’s take on the problem. While the Cygnet assembly work is completed at Gaydon in the UK, and the car has many of the high quality finishes and luxury touches you’d expect from Aston Martin, many will still see this as a rebadged Toyota.

Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez has been about as honest as you can get in this situation, putting limited spin on the Cygnet model. He says: “Aston Martin is honest and we don’t make compromises. Whatever we do, we do it right. If we do performance, we do performance; we won’t downsize our sports cars.” That’s a comment which can be appreciated, although he does go on to say that the Cygnet is also a car without comprises, which is his way of saying they had to make it and they’ve done the best they can.

Continue reading: Cygnet to production but Aston Martin markes honest performance cars

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Always unimpressed by the Aston Martin Cygnet - a microcar based on the Toyota iQ - we think it’s very weird to learn that the Cygnet is being planned for the US market, too. While the Cygnet is only for customers who already have an Aston and so could therefore be argued to be an exclusive accessory to the real thing, it seems strange that the company would even bother to make it available on a market that already hates the Smart ForTwo.

While it’s not the fault of Americans that the Smart ForTwo has been a failure, and neither has it been just because it’s a minicar, the ForTwo has probably dampened US enthusiasm for anything under a hatch model. The rebadged iQ will get an all-electric version in 2013 and while the Cygnet could prove an alternative to the Smart, it is still just an iQ dressed up in fancy (and expensive) Aston Martin finishes.

Luckily though, the Cygnet won’t be the only thing coming from the company in the years to come. We should apparently get a redesigned Aston Martin Vantage in 2014, preceded by a new DB9 in 2013. Production of the limited edition, carbonfibre One-77 should start by year end and we shouldn’t see anything with the Lagonda name attached to it for a few years’ yet (and that’s after the Aston Martin SUV was killed off because…well no-one liked it really).

Source | Automotive News

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A compact Bentley city car could be in the works to compete directly with the Aston Martin Cygnet. This rendering of the Bentley Barnato (here’s hoping they change the name), shows how Bentley’s stylistic themes would fit onto a luxury city car.

The rendering took the Citroen DS3 as a basis, although if a Bentley city car was to be produced, it would more likely take the new Audi A1 as the basis, given that Bentley is part of the Volkswagen group. Bentley would provide a bit of competition to Aston Martin, taking on the same ideas of surprising the market and entering a segment not traditionally its own, as the Cygnet.

Bentley would also be looking at introducing a car like the Barnato to reduce the overall high CO2 emissions of the Bentley range. This would be an additional move to the recently announced introduction of ethanol across the range. We’re not sure that the market will be too impressed by the Bentley’s and Aston’s of the world creating city cars to reduce the carbon emissions of the range, but as long as it’s a Bentley someone probably will buy it.

Source | Autoblog.nl

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The Aston Martin Cygnet in this gallery, shows off its various colours to emphasise the limited edition, exclusive nature of this car. As we saw with the Cygnet live pics from Geneva, it’s the interior that lets you know you’re driving an Aston, otherwise it is just a Toyota iQ in disguise. The Cygnet can be ordered in all kinds of different tints, kits and finishings in accordance with the one-off idea.

Only 2,000 units of the Aston Martin Cygnet will be produced, although the date when production will start hasn’t been announced. Neither has the Cygnet price, although rumours suggest it could be about 22,000 euros, which 7,000 euros more than the Toyota iQ. The Cygnet is equipped with Toyota’s 1.33 litre engine with 100 hp.

Aston Martin Cygnet new pics

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The Aston Martin Cygnet interior is what makes this a special compact, city car. The exterior has been modified just enough to make it more pleasing to the eye than the Toyota iQ, but it hardly screams the Aston brand. The interior, on the other hand, is truly amazing - just like a luxury, 12 cylinder coupé. We won’t hazard a guess as to how successful this will be for Aston, as it seems more like a fun experiment for Aston owners than anything else, but we still enjoyed seeing the Cygnet in the flesh.

The Aston Stand at the Geneva Motor Show also exhibits the DB9 Coupé, DBS Volante, the V12 Vantage and the Rapide sedan. It’s got to be one of the most elegant and sophisticated stands at the show and is well worth a look if you’re there.

Aston Martin Cygnet live at Geneva: the Aston stand

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This is a very funky, juvenile video for Aston Martin, as the luxury brand promotes its Aston Martin Cygnet model. The Cygnet is only available to those who already own an Aston, and the ad probably reflects more the Toyota iQ that the Cygnet is based on. At this stage, only 2,000 Cygnet models will be produced.

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Here are the first detailed pics of the Aston Martin Cygnet. Based on the Toyota iQ, it’s designed for the luxury-conscious city commuter and includes Aston style such as the front grille, rear headlights and door handles. The interior is particularly luxurious, and while using the iQ as a platform, it is made fully from leather with new colours and trim.

There’s not much information on the technical aspects of the car and when it might become available, although different wheels are expected to be used, as well as the more powerful 1.3-litre four cylinder iQ engine. Currently a concept model, the Aston Martin Cygnet could be available by the end of the next year, initially only to current Aston owners.

According to Aston Martin, the reason behind making the Cygnet is not just to lower the company’s overall carbon dioxide emissions, but to offer an innovative transport solution. About 1,000 to 1,000 Cygnets a year are expected to be built at Gaydon facilities, using iQ models imported from Japan.

Source | Autocar

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Aston Martin has released new pictures of the Cygnet, the economy car based on the Toyota iQ. However there are some differences between the two, especially with regards to the lights: the rear group recapture the classic V design, while the solution for the anterior end is much more intricate and, to tell the truth, not very definitive.

Same goes for the rest of the car: these pictures were announced to anticipate the concept car (to be displayed at Frankfurt?), but they have the sole (de)merit of showing with what nonchalance Aston Martin dealt with this crucial step in continuing its elite brand. Was it really too costly to not dedicate more attention to the details of the characterizing features? An example would be the anterior side scoops which seem “glued on” badly.

From | Auto Express

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