Win Aston Martin Cygnet + £15,000
Format:2dr City Car
Position:Front
Engine Type:i4
Engine Size:1.3 litre
0-62 mph:11.5 sec
Power:97 bhp
Top Speed:106 mph
Retail Price:£ 30,995
‘Controversial’ – the dictionary will forevermore hold a picture of the Aston Martin Cygnet next to that word. This is a car borne out of necessity. All car manufacturers must reduce the CO2 emissions of their entire range every year, and this isn’t too hard for companies like Porsche who have the diesel hybrid Panamera and Diesel Cayenne models and Ferrari who, being part of the Fiat Group fall back on the results from the Fiat Panda and 500. But Aston Martin have a range of entirely V8 and V12 models, the weakest of which has 420bhp. So what to do in order to meet your targets? In this case Aston have taken a very controversial route, and released a city car.
That’s correct – an Aston Martin with a 1.33 litre engine and less than 100 bhp. To start with they take a Toyota iQ, and add their own Aston front end and rear end treatments to it. This is the least successful part of the transformation, the large grille and bonnet louvres looking slightly out of place. But on the inside they retrim the iQ with exactly the same skill and materials as you get in a DB9, and it looks stunning. Sumptuous leather, quilted seats, leather dashboard, the works. And after all that work you have one of the most unique cars on sale today. Love it or loathe it, the Cygnet is here to stay, and is helping keep V12 Astons on the road for years to come…