Aston Martin V8 Cygnet

Between 2011 and 2013, Aston Martin offered a very small car in addition to the well-known sports cars. The Cygnet aimed specifically at existing customers who didn’t want to give up the luxury comfort of an Aston even when shopping or driving into a crowded city center. However, the British company also had to take some criticism for it, because it was just a re-badged Toyota iQ with slight external changes and a bettered interior. For this they asked for 37,995 euros in basic configuration without additional extras – about three times the price of the Toyota.

The worldwide sales success was kept within narrow limits, as Aston Martin sold only 593 copies of the 98 PS strong Cygnet overall before production was stopped. As part of this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed a new variant of the Cygnet, based on the well-known model, has now surprisingly debuted. The bodywork has been visibly widened at the fenders with specially made carbon fibre parts. In addition at the rear there are two round exhaust pipes visible.

When the little car, painted in ‘Buckinghamshire Green’, is started, the last passerby will notice that this is not a normal small car. In the special request department ‘Q by Aston Martin – Commission’ this was built on customer request with the 4.7 liter V8 engine from the V8 Vantage S implemented in front of the driver. Thus it has full 430 PS and 490 newtonmeters of torque available, which are transmitted to the rear axle via the seven-speed Sportshift II automatic gearbox from the V8 Vantage S. Including all necessary fluids the V8 Cygnet just weighs 1,375 kilograms. It accelerates in 4.2 seconds from zero to 60 mph and reaches a topspeed of 170 mph.

The basis used for this transformation was a normal RHD Cygnet, which next to the bodywork changes also received a full rollcage in the process. In addition a new bulkhead between interior and engine bay as well as a new center tunnel had to made from metal, in order to achieve enough space for the engine and gearbox. Aston Martin also installed the suspension and subframes of the V8 Vantage S as well as a 30-litre fuel cell in the trunk. The extended space in the wheel arches is filled by 19-inch wheels, which are three inches larger than those of the normal Cygnet. Behind them is a performance braking system with front 380 and rear 330 millimeter discs.

Inside, the small car received in addition to the rollcage also FIA compliant racing seats with four-point harnesses, a fire extinguisher system and a detachable steering wheel with Alcantara cover. Behind it sits the instruments of the V8 Vantage S. But there is no way that this Aston Martin could have left the factory without at least a small bit of luxury, and so there are leather pull straps on the unique carbon door cards and two USB ports next to the bespoke controls for the air conditioning.

Images: Aston Martin