Firm will put its Toyota iQ-based city car into production at its Gaydon headquarters next year

Aston Martin will put its Toyota iQ-based Cygnet city car into production at its Gaydon headquarters next year. The smallest Aston ever is based on iQs built in Japan by Toyota, which are then specially imported to the UK for Aston.

The design and build work of the Cygnet is carried out at Gaydon; Aston has incorporated much of its design language into the iQ, including its signature front grille.

See the official pics of the Aston Martin Cygnet

Aston CEO Ulrich Bez, who has faced criticism for the Cygnet, defended its creation, saying it’s been primarily designed to help Aston lower its fleet average CO2 emissions in face of strict upcoming EU legislation.

“Aston Martin is honest and we don’t make compromises,” he said. “Whatever we do, we do it right. If we do performance, we do performance; we won’t downsize our sports cars. “The Cygnet needs to satisfy the demands of emissions and space. It is a car without compromise, just like every other Aston Martin."

Read more on the Aston Martin Cygnet

Aston design chief Marek Reichman said the Cygnet buying and ownership experience would be identical to that of a regular Astons and quality would not be compromised by size. All of Astons interior materials available on its other models - including hides and metals - would be offered on the Cygnet, too. "Luxury is not constrained by scale," he said. "The world is changing, the environment is changing - Aston Martin needs to change."

The Cygnet will only initially be available to existing Aston owners and is expected to cost between £30000-£50,000. Aston will confirm full Cygnet pricing and specification later this year.

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Sports888 12 October 2010

Re: Aston Cygnet on sale next year

The issue I have is with the styling. You know when people take an ordinary car like the Toyota MR2 for example and convert it to look a bit like a Ferrari, well this car reminds me of that. It looks like a cheap imitation, the trouble is it's not cheap. It still looks too much like a Toyota with an after market conversion and for that I cannot forgive it.

jelly7961 12 October 2010

Re: Aston Cygnet on sale next year

Lesia44 wrote:
As for the Cygnet, it's clearly designed to lower average emissions count and, as such, should be welcomed as it will allow Aston to keep building the good stuff for a little longer. This doesn't threaten Aston Martin, it allows hem to keep on being Aston Martin.
When I started reading this story and the comments I wondered how long it would take before a half sensible comment came about. Thank you, As you point out and indeed as does AM, this car is built specifically to allow them to continue building what they do best. You should all be blaming the governments of the world and not AM. And before you say they could have come up with a clean sheet design the answer to that is I doubt very much whether they could have afforded it. Over and out!

fhp11 11 October 2010

Re: Aston Cygnet on sale next year

If I was completely loaded and decided I wanted a small car for the City, I would have an Audi A1....

Cheaper, quicker, probably more economical in diesel, better to drive, more spacious etc etc etc and best of all, you wouldnt look like a complete nob.