cygnet

Aston Martin Cygnet Unveiled at Harrods

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Luxury Shopping

If you're going to sell something luxurious in London, it had better be on display at Harrods. A veritable landmark of the English capital, Harrods has been around since 1849 and boasts over 360 departments on seven floors of upscale retail space.

Little wonder, then, that Aston Martin chose the department store to unveil the production-ready version of its upcoming Cygnet city car. Based on the Toyota iQ, the Cygnet upgrades with features that only Aston Martin could apply. The car goes into production in the new year, but is on display in a ground level window at Harrods until December 11.

Gallery: Aston Martin Cygnet at Harrods

Tags: aston, aston martin, aston martin cygnet, cygnet, department store, harrods, london

Aston Martin Cygnet heads into Production

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Imagine the following scenario: You live in a major European city, say London or Paris. You drive an Aston Martin. Sounds pretty good so far, right? Now imagine that you hardly ever get a chance to drive your Aston Martin because of traffic congestion. Heartbreaking. So what do you do? You get the new Aston Martin Cygnet.

Shown until now in concept form, the Cygnet has now been approved for production, which is set to begin next year. The car is based on the spritely Toyota iQ, but more luxuriously finished, by hand, at Aston's factory in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, and made to order. Further details – including pricing and specifications – are expected to follow later this year.

Gallery: Aston Martin Cygnet

Tags: aston, aston cygnet, aston martin, aston martin cygnet, cygnet

Aston Martin Cygnet Still Has a Racy Side

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

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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Tags: aston martin, Aston Martin Cygnet, AstonMartin, AstonMartinCygnet, cygnet, cygnet by aston martin, cygnet gulf, CygnetByAstonMartin, CygnetGulf, gulf, gulf livery, GulfLivery

2010 Geneva Motor Show: The Anglo File

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

You'll have to search long and hard to find a British automaker that's still owned by Brits these days. Bentley? Volkswagen. Mini? BMW. Lotus? Malaysian state carmaker Proton. Land Rover, Jaguar? Indian automaker Tata. But don't think, not even for one minute, that the industry isn't still alive and striving in the UK. In fact some of our favorite automobiles come from there, even if the cashflow is traversing overseas.

With the major motor shows in the UK paling in comparison to the scope of Geneva, the annual Swiss auto salon is – much like it is for the other European carmaking nations – Britain's chance to show the world what they've got. And show us they did. Follow the jump to see how.

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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]

Tags: aston, aston cygnet, aston martin, Aston Martin Cygnet, aston martin cygnet spy shots, AstonCygnet, AstonMartin, AstonMartinCygnet, AstonMartinCygnetSpyShots, cygnet

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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Tags: aston, aston martin, aston martin cygnet, AstonMartin, AstonMartinCygnet, cygnet, toyota iq, ToyotaIq