Aston Martin Cygnet: Project Kahn Tries to Make Something Out of Nothing

There are plenty of reasons not to buy into Aston Martin's cover up of the Toyota iQ, but if you have already paid twice or perhaps even three times as much for a cooler grille and a luxed up interior and still aren’t happy about the way the Cygnet looks and sounds, Project Kahn has some select upgrades for you.

On the outside, the British tuner fits the Cygnet with its own alloy wheels that are available in various colors (size 17-in. up front and 18-in. at the back), a new set of brake calipers finished in heat resistant paint, again in whatever color the customer wants, and bespoke exhaust tail pipes.

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Aston Martin Attempts to Justify the Unjustified with Cygnet Video

A Toyota iQ with the 1.33-liter gasoline engine will set you back £12,775 (US$19,900 or €15,100) in Britain. A base Aston Martin Cygnet with the same drivetrain will cost you £31,000 (US$48,300 or €36,300) but can approach the £50,000 mark (!), depending on the edition.

If you do the math, you'll find that the entry-level Cygnet costs almost two and a half times more than the car it is based on, and which is available in North America under the Scion brand with prices starting from $15,995.

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Aston Martin Launches New Cygnet in Hong Kong and Japan

Perhaps the most controversial Aston Martin model ever made - or to be more precise, re-made, the new Cygnet luxury city car has arrived in two more markets outside of Europe, in Hong Kong and Japan.

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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Aston Martin Says it Can't Satisfy Demand for $49K Cygnet

Aston Martin’s chairman Ulrich Bez has admitted that sales of the subcompact Cygnet are “not as high as we hoped”. He claimed though that the reason is not the lack of customers, but of supply.

“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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IAA 2011: Aston Martin One-77 Shows up in Frankfurt with a Different Hue Right Next to the Cygnet

It’s been more than two years since we first laid eyes on Aston Martin's stunning One-77 supercar, but we're still enamored with its striking looks. At this year's edition of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, the British automaker brought along an example of the One-77 finished in funky brown color. Read more »

Aston Martin: How Recycled Platforms and Eight-Year-Old Tech Could be the Brand’s Downfall

Unlike Bentley, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce – who are owned by highly successful mainstream brands Volkswagen, Audi, Fiat and BMW respectively – specialist manufacturers such as Aston Martin have a hard time in the market.

Whereas a company like Mercedes-Benz can afford to spend €5 billion (US$7.1 billion) in one year on research and development, the Gaydon-based manufacturer of performance/luxury coupes is planning its next models on the eight-year-old platform that first underpinned the DB9 coupe in 2003!

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Aston Martin to Race Two Cygnets at Bridgestone Eco-Rally

A pair of Cygnet minis will be representing Aston Martin at the fifth annual Bridgestone Eco-Rally that takes place in London this weekend. This is the first time that the British marque participates at the event, which will pass from the heart of Oxford to central London. Read more »

Sir Stirling Moss Buys an Aston Martin Cygnet for his Wife

You would never think that an Aston Martin would need any sort of marketing push from a personality like Sir Stirling Moss, but to play around with our own words, up until recently, you would never think that Aston Martin would actually try to sell a hugely overpriced city car that’s a rebadged Toyota model…

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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Aston Martin Releases $70,550 / €48,995 Fashion-Trendy Cygnet Special

The Cygnet is on its way to becoming a true Aston Martin, but not in the sense you might think. We are referring to its price tag with the release of a new limited run special called “Cygnet & colette” that will set buyers back a whopping €48,995, equal to £43,800 and US$70,550!

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…

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Aston Martin Launches Cygnet with Two Special Editions, Priced from $49,600 / €36,700

To celebrate the start of production of its new Toyota iQ-based Cygnet city car, Aston Martin has announced two special launch edition models called White and Black.

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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Aston Martin's Low-iQ Cygnet Caught on the Streets of Düsseldorf

If we had to give a prize for the most ridiculous new car of 2010, it would go hands down to Aston Martin's Cygnet luxury mini. The British firm's pint-size model is nothing more than a Toyota iQ (Scion iQ in North America) decorated with fancy-pansy wraps - something like those silly replicas we show you from time to time with an even sillier price tag.

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Aston Martin Cygnet makes its global debut... in Harrods window

Ah, Harrods. Not only is it the swankiest and largest department store in the world, but starting from today and running through December 11, it will also be home to Aston Martin's new luxury city car, the Cygnet. The British firm's polished up Toyota iQ is making its global debut at the renowned shopping center in London occupying a prominent position in the store's Brompton Road window display.

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VIDEO: Aston Martin Execs Try to Convince Everyone the Cygnet is not a Toyota...

Now that the Aston Martin Cygnet has officially received the green light (previous post here), the brand of James Bond has put together again CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez and design director Marek Reichman for the Cygnet PR video below.

The 4-passenger Cygnet, based on Toyota's iQ city car, is meant to provide Aston Martin owners something more practical for daily use within cities and still offer said owners the level of exclusivity they desire. That means it can be ordered with all the same interior and exterior colors, leathers, and materials found on any other Aston.

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Toyota iQ Disco Concept to Glamour Rock German Showrooms

Say 'hallo' to Toyota's bling-bling shiny iQ Disco, a concept model that was created by the firm's German division purely for demonstration purposes as the oversized Japanese disco ball on wheels will tour dealerships all over the country, starting from showrooms in Cologne.

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Aston Martin Cygnet Mini Confirmed for Production, Sales Start in 2011

It's officially official; Aston Martin today confirmed that the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet luxury city car is to go into production with sales to start in 2011. The British automaker said details on pricing and specification will be announced by the end of this year. However it is believed the Cygnet will cost between £30,000-50,000 in the UK, or about US$47,500-79,000 / €34,000 -57,000 at the current exchange rates, and will initially be sold only to existing Aston customers.

Originally shown as a pre-production concept car at this year's Geneva Salon in March, the Cygnet is an Aston Martin-flavored version of the Toyota iQ city car with unique styling cues such as the front grille, bumper designs, exterior trim and alloy wheels, plus a high-luxury interior with details inspired by the automaker's supercar range.

"It is time to think differently. Aston Martin is honest and we don't make compromises" says Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez.

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Here's why we Think Aston Martin has Lost it with the Cygnet

In an interview last week with British car magazine Autocar, Aston Martin boss Ulrich Bez explained the reasons behind the company's decision to launch the Cygnet city car, which as you know, is a Toyota iQ with a new face and some fancy pansy dressings inside.

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.

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Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez Believes in the Cygnet. Should You?

Will Aston fans and owners begin to see the future as Ulrich Bez sees it? With the Aston Martin Cygnet, which recently debuted in Geneva, Bez says the British marque hopes to create "a more sustainable product lineup".

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."

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