astonmartincygnet

Aston Martin Cygnet Still Has a Racy Side

Aston Martin Cygnet in Gulf Livery – Click above to enlarge

Aston Martin is an automaker with a history that's indelibly linked with racing... not to mention beautiful designs, attractive colors and, um, James Bond. But the British automaker has more recently signaled its intent to be known for offering a lavishly equipped fuel efficient city car that focus solely on transportation duties and not 0 to 60 times or top speeds.

Mostly. A quick run through the automaker's website shows that its not willing to let the Cygnet degrade its performance and racing image entirely. To wit, the little urban commuter is pictured in a number of scenarios that don't exactly scream "efficient transportation." For instance, there's an orange-helmeted Stig lookalike posing with the Aston in one scene.

Note too that the Cygnet can be customized with three different racing paint schemes, two of which focus on the classic British Racing Green of Aston Martin's current racers and a third that shows the Cygnet painted up in iconic Gulf livery. Feel free to check it out for yourself at AstonMartin.com.

[Source: Aston Martin]

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Aston Martin CEO Explains Importance of Cygnet Minicar

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

Aston Martin builds some of the fastest, most desirable and undoubtedly most beautiful cars in the world by following a very simple formula. Front engine, rear-drive coupes (and sometimes sedans) powered by the biggest, most powerful engines available. As you would expect, fuel efficiency has historically been of very little concern.

Nowadays, though, that formula for success has a major flaw in that a line-up full of gas-guzzling machines doesn't make the populace (well, at least large portions of it) or the government particularly happy. Hence, Aston Martin has decided to offer another kind of vehicle entirely, one that hopefully will allow it continue merrily selling its favored line of supercars. Explains Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez:

First, we need a more sustainable product line-up... Second, we need to satisfy demand where we know it exists... Thirdly, we need to bring the company's fleet carbon emissions down. The Cygnet is perfect for that. This is just a small, stylish and efficient runabout: it doesn't need batteries or flywheels to be that way. So it's not pretending to be something it's not.

[Source: Autocar]

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Aston Martin Cygnet Spied on the Streets of London's Soho District

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Plenty has been written about the Aston Martin Cygnet, and much of it has been less than enthusiastic. After all, how does one connect the dots between a tiny, efficient and low-performance city car and the British sporting brand's super high-performance models? Apparently, that would be with Aston's signature front fascia along with an interior swathed in the requisite leather and unobtanium surfaces. Oh, and a suitably high price tag, no doubt.

Whether or not the Cygnet is a good idea, it certainly seems as if Aston Martin is pushing forward with the launch of the 3+1, which is based on the diminutive Toyota iQ. Proof of such can be seen in this series of spy photos, which show the Cygnet out and about in London's fashion-forward Soho district. The mini-mobile will be offered first to current Aston Martin owners, then it may see a limited release in select European dealerships later this year, assuming sufficient demand is found.

[Source: Secret New Cars]

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Aston Martin May Build Hybrid Lagonda SUV, Electric Cygnet

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

Aston Martin Lagonda Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Are hybrid drivetrains befitting of a premium luxury and performance brand? Well, that depends on who you ask. According to such diverse automakers as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce and even Ferrari and Lamborghini, the answer is 'yes'. Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez, though, reportedly believes otherwise. "The current hybrid technologies are not suited to the character of Aston Martin sports cars," explains Bez.

We're not so sure we agree, especially since Aston's long-planned Lagonda revival – which may or may not come wrapped in an ungainly SUV package – is rumored to be equipped with a hybrid powertrain. After all, the torque-rich nature of electric motors certainly wouldn't be a bad thing for a luxury tourer.

A few branches up on the green tree, Aston Martin's tiny Toyota iQ-based Cygnet minicar could quite possibly get a fully electric drivetrain, which would seem to make sense given that car's stated mission as an urban runabout for those times when a V12 Vanquish could be considered overkill. Beautiful, sonorous, splendid overkill...

Gallery: Lagonda Concept

[Source: Autotelegraaf.nl via Motor Authority]

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Aston Martin Preparing Cygnet City-Car for Launch Next Year

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Driving an Aston Martin sportscar along a twisting mountain road is our idea of a little slice of heaven. Driving one through downtown city traffic, however, is not. That's what Aston Martin themselves figure with the Cygnet project.

Announced back in June, the Cygnet takes a humble Toyota iQ city car and dresses it up in Aston Martin clothing, offering the British automaker's customers an alternative to driving their sportscars through the city, and saving them instead for a weekend romp through the countryside. Reports now indicate that the car could be ready to go as early as next year. With a price tag of $32,000 – roughly twice as much as the iQ on which it's based – Toyota will reportedly ship the cars pre-assembled from Japan to Aston's facility in England where they will be retrofitted with trademark Aston Martin luxury, only without the big engine up front.

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Aston Martin Goes Small With The New Cygnet Concept

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

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There is no arguing with the fact that Aston Martins are absolutely gorgeous machines. They are also absurdly fast. But if you live in a crowded city like Manhattan, London or Tokyo they are utterly impractical. Like most exotics they can be hard to see out of and who wants to risk getting entangled with a bus or delivery truck? The crew at Aston Martin are now working on the solution.

The Cygnet by Aston Martin is a urban car concept that would give Aston owners a more practical alternative for when they need to head into the city center. The Cygnet is based on Toyota's recently launched iQ micro-car. While Aston doesn't have any confirmed production plans for the Cygnet yet, it could be offered in the future as an accompaniment to "standard" Astons, much like a dinghy for a yacht.

If only we could afford a "standard" Aston Martin on a blogger budget.

[Source: Aston Martin]

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