Following the confirmation in October 2010 we can now share with you that production of the Aston Martin Cygnet will officially start in the upcoming weeks.

The first two versions rolling down the assembly line will be Black and White editions, beginning this April. Both cars come with the 72 kW 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine as fitted to the iQ, and can be had with either the manual or CVT gearbox options.

No additional engine tweaks or upgrades have been outfitted to the vehicle. So in the end it manages the same 11.8 second sprint from 0 – 100km/h and 170 km/h top speed as the manual iQ. The CVT version drops this to 11.2 seconds, although that’s considerably slower than the next slowest Aston – the V8 Vantage – which takes 4.8 seconds to sprint to 100km/h and has a 290 km/h top speed.

The Cygnet is available in any setup you want. The first two versions will be in either Swan White or Magic Black. On the inside, the White car features Pearl white leather and Alcantara seats, while the Black model gets seats and dash finished in black full grain leather.

Both Cygnet Launch Editions also come with a bespoke Bill Amberg five-piece luggage set, especially designed for and tailored to Cygnet. The black leather set comprises a glove box bag, removable door pocket bag, holdall, garment bag and a collapsible tote bag.

via GTSpirit

The Cygnet has landed! Before now all we had to go on was one image of a clay styling model, but these are the first full images, revealing Aston’s IQ-based baby in all its glory.

It’s the model that has confounded car fans the world over – but here is proof that the British firm is going ahead with its most ambitious project yet.

Using the Toyota IQ as a starting point, Aston plan to ship the Japanese cars over to the UK before adding the radical styling changes, inside and out, that you can see here. At the front that classic Aston grille, but minituarised has been grafted on, alongside V12 Vantage-style bonnet vents and the famous Aston Martin badge.

The trademark side gills, gorgeous 16-spoke 16-inch alloys and boomerang style lights finish off the exterior enhancements. But it’s inside the cabin where Aston has really rung the changes.

An almost limitless range of bespoke materials will be available to trim the cabin, along with every gadget you’d expect to find in a modern luxury car. An iPod dock in the centre of the dash, built-in sat-nav and leather on almost every surface can clearly be seen in the photo.

Engine options will be limited to the larger 73 kW 1,3-litre engine from the IQ, meaning performance won’t be on a par with other cars in Aston’s range but that’s mising the point – the idea behind this car is to reduce average CO2 emissions across the line-up.

Work on the concept is ongoing and will continue into 2010 when it will become a production reality, initially available only to Aston Martin customers in the UK and Europe, for a price of around £20 000.

Adapted from AutoExpress

Beating out a field of over 30 rival cars, the Volkswagen Polo 5 has been voted Europe’s Car of the Year – the first victory for VW in 18 years.

The supermini narrowly beat the Toyota iQ in the final voting, earning 347 points versus 337. The Polo received 59 scoring votes in total from the 59-strong judging panel, including 25 selections as the number one car. In contrast, the iQ received 58 votes, with 20 selections as the best car.

The result is determined from a list of 33 new cars, which are voted on by European car journalists.

A shortlist of seven cars is then determined, with 59 European judges making their selection. Each judge has 25 points to allocate as they see fit, although at least five contenders must receive points, and the chosen winner must receive more points than the runners-up.

Last year’s winner was the Opel Insignia, also sold in the UK as the Vauxhall Insignia and the US as the Buick Regal. There are no plans to offer the Insignia in South Africa.

The full list of results is below. (Click to expand)

In Europe, engine options include 1,2 and 1,4-litre petrol engines, and a turbocharged 1,2-litre TSI petrol engine. A new 1,6-litre TDI common rail diesel engine is also offered.

The new Polo is scheduled to arrive in South Africa in the first quater of next year. Specific dates, local pricing and engine options have not yet been revealed.