Aston Martin to launch the Cygnet city car

Posted by David Walker on Tue 30 Jun 2009

James Bond unlikely to be investing

Aston Martin, the car of choice for both secret agents and the rich and famous. But we suspect neither will be beating down the showroom door for the Aston Martin Cygnet - although they will be the only people entitled to buy one.

The Cygnet is Aston Martin's take on the city car. Or rather, it's Aston's take on an existing one, specifically the Toyota iQ, with the Japanese car giant building the thing, then sending it over to Aston Martin for the 'glam'. Which leaves you with a reliable, economical car with all the refinements of a high-end Aston. Well, almost - a stumpy city car really isn't going to impress your fellow spies in Cannes, Aston badge or not.

Top 10: High performance cars

But if you do want a little runaround with a big badge, it's not a bad car at all, offering a Euro NCAP five-star crash safety rating, a highly-economical, low-emission engine and for you lovers of luxury, a full leather interior (on a par with the DBS) and an ECU (Emotion Control Unit) that plugs into the centre console, replacing the traditional key.

Want one? Well, you can't have one. At least, not yet. The Cygnet goes on sale in 2010, but only to existing Aston Martin owners, presumably ones that fancy a day off to save the environment. The rest of us will have to wait patiently, even if we walk into an Aston showroom with a suitcase containing the £20,000 asking price. Then again, you can always give it a go.

Link: Aston Martin (via Auto Express)

Future Tech: See the gadgets of tomorrow