"What's a Japan-made Toyota iQ doing in the Kuwaiti-owned British sports car company known as Aston Martin? And how does an Toyota iQ modified to look like an Aston Martin?" That is the question only you can answer because what we see know is Aston Martin's first compact car, the Cygnet, based on the Japan-made Toyota iQ subcompact that is truly a decent rival to the smart compact cars.
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| 2011 Aston Martin Cygnet |
True to its form that the Cygnet is the British version of the Toyota iQ subcompact, the exterior sports its trademark Aston Martin look on the front and an eccentric tail lamps attached on the rear. This is nothing more like "For Tokyo, James?" and James Bond would say "No, not for me." because I think the men with their inner Bond would not like the Cygnet's compact look. What makes up for the Cygnet is only for the girls who want to be like the Bond girls in several Bond movies. Speaking of that, the rich dads who have Aston Martins in their garages are happy to lend the Cygnet's key for the spoiled brats who've reached their driving age. Pretty much to say that the Cygnet is a spoiled brats' driving force.
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| 2011 Aston Martin Cygnet interior |
The Cygnet is truly the GT-R Egoist in the making because the interior packs several color combinations that can be use it in ways that suits your mood and personality. From the choice of Alcantara Suede trims (10 Alcantara colors and 5 Plisse alcantara colors) and leather trims, choosy customers may want to spend some time finding the right interior trim for the Cygnet. Looks like what will they do is apply the Egoist knowledge until the right interior combination comes out to mind and rightfully take home the over 30,000 British Pound Aston Martin subcompact car that will be surely be small wonder for the Kuwaiti-owned British sports car maker.
The main engine for the Aston Martin Cygnet is the Toyota-sourced 1.3L 1NR-FE Dual VVT-i engine that carries 98bhp/6000rpm of power output, 125nm/4400 of torque output, and Euro 5 compliant. The Cygnet 6-speed manual consumes for about 58.9mpg EC Combined and no, the Cygnet 6MT variant does not have Toyota's Smart Stop (idling stop) system found on the Toyota iQ Go 6MT and the third-generation Vitz/Yaris. The CVT variant of the Cygnet is the most fuel-efficient Cygnet ever, resulting to the fuel consumption of 55.4mpg EC Combined and the CO2 emissions of 120g/km. Those looking for some fun riding should go for the Aston Martin Cygnet 1.3L 6-speed manual transmission but for those looking for some gas-saving cars should consider the Cygnet 1.3L CVT variant. The choice is yours...
The Aston Martin Cygnet comes with several color variations to choose from;
Special Paints:
Sports car paint - Black bear
Sports car paint - Blue anchor
Sports car paint - Grey bull
Sports car paint - Red lion
Sports car paint - Silver fox
Sports car paint - Silver jubilee
Sports car paint - White horse
Sports car paint - Yellow kangaroo
Metallic Paints:
Contemporary metallic - Blue anchor
Contemporary metallic - Grey bull
Contemporary metallic - Red lion
Contemporary metallic - Silver fox
Contemporary metallic - Yellow kangaroo
Fast track metallic - Black bear
Fast track metallic - Silver jubilee
Fast track metallic - White horse
My Comment:
Well, I'm not excited about the first compact car from Aston Martin, which is essentially a Toyota iQ in Aston Martin guise. The Toyota iQ was assembled in Japan and the Aston Martin Cygnet's assembly takes place at Gaydon, Warwickshire, UK. However, the folks at Gaydon require the Japan-made Toyota iQ as the donor car and swap it out with something Aston Martin on it, resulting to the finished product. The Aston Martin Cygnet is half-Japanese, half-British, something like, well you know, a mixture of eating sushi and sipping English tea for lunch. Looks like the Cygnet will only live twice (cue the song You Only Live Twice, please) because this looks more of a substitute to the Toyota 2000GT Open-Top from the Bond movie, You Only Live Twice, which was driven by the Bond girl, Akiko Wakabayashi. If I were to recreate that Bond film, maybe Aki may use this Cygnet as a support vehicle while she and Bond are getting away from the goons.
Photo: Aston Martin
