According to a recent report, Aston Martin has quietly axed their Toyota iQ-based Cygnet city car. But never fear, if you’re hankering after a €35 000 (R455 000) Toyota with some Aston Martin badges and leather on the inside, you can still pick one up from a dealership in Britain and Europe because nobody bought one to begin with.
When Aston Martin was sold by the Ford Motor Company to an Italian private equity fund, Aston Martin no longer had Ford products to help leverage their CAFE requirements (Corporate Average Fuel Economy). Most boutique manufacturers would ignore the mandate (think Pagani) but Aston Martin forged ahead with the little Aston Martin Cygnet and it arrived as a concept car in 2010 and entered production one year after that, in 2011.
The Faux Aston Martin was based on a Toyota iQ with a 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine that made 72 kW and 125 Nm of torque, giving it acceleration from 0 – 100 km/h in 11.6 seconds, and fuel economy of around 5.2 L/100km. Watch the original Aston Martin Cygnet promo video here. It’s hilarious.
