Essentially a heavily luxed-up version of the Toyota / Scion iQ, the Cygnet is available to order now in Hong Kong and Japan from the Aston Martin dealership network with deliveries expected in the first quarter of 2012.
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“I’m not satisfied with sales of the Cygnet” Bez told British magazine, Autocar. “We can’t deliver as many as customers want, as we don’t have enough stock. It is the sort of product a customer wants and decides they want on the spot –they don’t want to wait for their car to be built, but to drive it away there and then,” he added.
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In any case, the British racing legend is one of the first customers to receive the Aston Martin Cygnet, which he purchased as a birthday gift to his wife, Lady Moss. Appropriately, there was a photographer in hand to capture the gift-wrapped Cygnet.
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That’s £18,000 or US$29,000 more than the entry-level Cygnet. This kind of money can buy you a Porsche Boxster in the UK and you would still have more than £7,000 left for spending! And all this for a car that is essentially a re-trimmed Toyota iQ…
Most of our readers will know by now that the Cygnet exists purely to counteract the 120 grams of CO2 per kilogram EU carbon restrictions to be introduced in 2012. With a combined CO2 g/km rating of 400, Aston Martin’s current fleet of high performance vehicles could never match this.
Set to go on sale in April, both are offered with the iQ's 1.33-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine producing 98HP, matched to either standard 6-speed manual gearbox or optional CVT automated transmission, and each will be produced for a strictly limited run.
The British automaker says the Cygnet with the manual gearbox completes the 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint in 11.6 seconds while returning an estimated combined fuel economy of 56.5 mpg UK, equal to 47 mpg US and 5.0 lt/100km.
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The only truly original 'Aston Martin' quality of the car appears to be the price tag which is rumored to range anywhere between £30-50,000, or about US$45-75,000 / €33-55,000.
We can think of a few dozen reasons to as why the British automaker shouldn't build, err we mean caricaturize the iQ into an Aston, but why bother when the company digs itself a grave by launching a childish wallpaper generator on its official site.
This means lowering Aston's carbon footprint company-wide and fulfilling a niche that supposedly exists. After all, Aston Martin is a business, and businesses are about making money in the long term.
According to Bez, "We have many customers who live in London, Paris, Rome or Milan, and who would like to drive their Aston Martin more often, but with a V12 sports car, it's just not appropriate. They tell me that they want an Aston Martin that fits better into their urban lives. And it is our job to give them what they want."
Really, it's an Aston-skinned Toyota (a name they mention ONCE in the entire 1600+ word press release ... DENIAL AIN'T JUST A RIVER IN AFRICA, PEOPLE!).
That means this AMiQ retains the same basic layout of Toyota's version, allowing for a few different seating arrangements: 2+2, 2+1, or just plain 2. It also has the same 98bhp 4-cylinder engine with either a 6-speed stick or optional CVT.
But enough already. For any major facts such as dimensions, feel free to check out our posts on the Toyota iQ, because we're here to discuss how this Cygnetic parasite differs from its Japanese host.
The Aston Martin-ized Toyota iQ is shown towards the end of the clip and after a minute or so of some guys practicing the French freestyle/urban sport of Parkour that involves negotiating obstacles using just the human body.
To gear heads like ourselves, this film makes as much sense as Aston Martin's decision to go ahead with the Cygnet project... Video after the break.
Via: Autoblog.com
