Aston Martin Cygnet (nee Toyota iQ) to hit European city streets next year?
Aston Martin Cygnet Concept – Click above to enlarge
Most of us would be willing to kill for the opportunity to have an Aston Martin as our daily commuter. (Then again, most of us here at Autoblog are writers and don't commute much of anywhere). But the British purveyor of luxury GTs figures some of its customers – those based in major European metropolitan centers like London and Paris, for example – could use something a little more compact for driving into the city. Hence the Cygnet, which as you may recall is essentially a Toyota iQ with some Aston touches.
News of the car's development broke a few months ago, but the latest reports now indicate that the Aston-badged city car could begin shipping as early as next year. Although no mechanical changes are expected to take place, the pre-assembled units are expected to be shopped to AM's plant in Gaydon, England, where the company will give the citycar its own unique interior, slap on an Aston grille and the requisite badging and raise the price up to $32,000 – about twice the price Toyota fetches for a stock iQ.
Whether Aston's customers bite remains to be seen, but for our part, we still want to see one of these face off against the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari for the exotic supermini crown.
[Source: Automotive News – subs req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark Kiernan 8:11AM (10/08/2009)
I think the Toyota looks much better. Can't see why anyone would pay 32k for this...
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nrb 11:03AM (10/08/2009)
Because they can.
andrichrose 10:34AM (10/08/2009)
Sounds like a total waste of time an money to me,
what a dud !
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Scatter 11:50AM (10/08/2009)
I can only assume this is to bring down Aston Martin's average CO2 and get round the fines for exceeding 130g/km.
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Matthew 3:30PM (10/11/2009)
What a terrible idea. This will cheapen the brand a great deal. Aston's very own Cimmaron.
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