Rememer the Cygnet? Aston Martin’s take on a Toyota iQ, or a Scion iQ in America. Powered by a 1.3-liter engine, this economical leather-lined city car was Aston Martin’s way of adhering to European fleet emissions rules. With a price tag of around £30,000, you could buy three iQs for the price of one Cygnet, making it a rather niche proposition. Indeed, while order books opened up in early 2011, production ended in September 2013 because the Cygnet just didn’t live up to sales expectations. Instead of a targeted 4,000 cars per year, the BBC reports total UK Cygnet sales of, um, 150.
As such, the Cygnet became something of a punchline. We still think it’s cool, but for others, it’s a bit of a joke. However, what if Aston Martin used a Cygnet to craft a millimetrically-perfect knee-slapper that knocks audiences clean out of their socks? Well, in 2018, that’s exactly what happened.
See, the team at Aston Martin’s Q branch looked at the body of a Cygnet and the 430-horsepower 4.7-liter V8 engine from a V8 Vantage S, made tea, and got to work. In addition to the mighty V8, the seven-speed paddle-shift transaxle, the front and rear subframes, the wheels, and even the brakes from the V8 Vantage S made it underneath a dramatically flared Cygnet body. However, since this was imagined from the outset as a road-legal car, this Cygnet also has air conditioning, anti-lock brakes, and even a rear defroster.
The result is a 3,031-pound car that could run from zero-to-62 mph in 4.2 seconds, top out at 170 mph, and look like a real-life Hot Wheels diecast. Watching footage of it running up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed is hilarious, almost like seeing a turtle sprint the 100-meter dash. It’s a weird car made more joyous, and guess what? It’s now up for sale.
British Aston Martin specialist Nicholas Mee has got its hands on this exceptionally special Cygnet, and the car’s listing gives us a closer look at one of history’s most bonkers Aston Martins. Right off the rip, there’s a hilarious rawness to the cabin, partially necessitated by moving the firewall to accommodate the V8. In addition to a tastefully paint-matched roll cage, the carbon fiber dashboard and console with regular Aston Martin switchgear feel incredibly race car, as do the pair of Recaro bucket seats. Due in part to the narrowness of the Cygnet cabin, there’s a hilarious jankiness to the fitment of the shifter buttons, incongruent to the suaveness of the Aston Martin brand. Ever seen someone boob-luge a vodka martini before?
The make-do spirit continues on the outside, with flares more appropriate for a UTV than a high-end car, underbody bracing visible from behind, and exhaust tips like cannons complemented by little bits of heat shielding to avoid bumper immolation. The Super Cygnet almost seems like it was built in a garage in the best possible way, which makes its existence in Aston Martin canon all the more outlandish.
However, what gives me the most joy is that someone’s put 2,900 miles on this wild creation. Sure, that isn’t a huge number for a normal car, but just think of the experience this V8-powered Cygnet provides. It looks substantially more insane than the vast majority of supercars today, so kudos for at least driving it a bit.
While definitely not legal for standard import into America, it seems like a potential candidate for a Show and Display petition. Not only did Aston Martin only build one of these things, it’s almost a bespoke car. Aside from the body panels and glass, just about the only Cygnet part left on this special build is the power mirror control switch, which comes straight out of Toyota’s parts bin. It’s also historically significant, and it may help that several rare Aston Martins have already made it onto the Show and Display list.
Of course, first you’ll have to afford this wild one-off Cygnet, and it almost certainly won’t come cheap. Although it’s listed as POA, expect to pay genuine supercar money for a Super Cygnet. Still, if you already have some exotic metal in the garage and are looking for something a little less sane, look no further.
Top graphic image: Nicholas Mee
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The driveshaft on this thing must be less than a foot long!
It’s like a new school version of what people were doing with the Toyota Starlet. Popular in Puerto Rico.
“Ever seen someone boob-luge a vodka martini before?”
No, but now I want to.
This has Mercedes written all over it.
This is like those youtube videos of guys putting sportbike engines in golf carts haha
Just have to say, that video from Goodwood is hilarious, I could watch it all day.
Also, the car is ridiculous and I want it so bad.
For those who missed out on Franco Sbarro’s “Super Eight” and “Super Twelve,” you have another chance!
And yes, if I had the coin, I’d grab this in a heartbeat. Few cars have come closer to achieving Peak Wacky.
Just the thing for the Zardoz fan in your life:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nzsw07QFe4s/maxresdefault.jpg
The real challenge will be wearing that outfit.
Rather have a oem one.
It was built by Aston Martin, even if it’s a one-off.
That’s gotta be the highest hood-to-rotor-diameter ratio in the history of cars.
Infamous? First time hearing about this one.
I already wanted a Cygnet, so…
This is just wrong in all the right ways and induces funny feelings in my nether regions. I already love driving short wheelbase hatches and this amps it up to seventeen. The want is strong – dare I say unbridled lust.
I LIKE the Cygnet, even before I saw it in person at the Galpin car show a few months ago. And yes, I’d gladly daily this Cygnet (I never drive all that far these days) but I cannot imagine it will sell for anything like what I could conceivably manage to pay for it. Heck, even a REGULAR Cygnet is beyond my comfort zone, given how they never really got all that cheap.
Also, may I please be permitted to be a pedantic schmuck and complain about the Volvo EX30 advertisement that pops up in various places here at The Autopian? It’s tagline touts the “$35K starting price” whereas reality clearly shows that the car actually starts TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS MORE, at $45K ($44,900 starting MSRP at Volvo’s own US site: https://www.volvocars.com/us/cars/ex30-electric/ ). I don’t know if the EX30 was EVER actually buyable at $35K… maybe that was the theoretical initial starting price, but did any cars actually get sold at that price, what with the software bug delays and dealer markups?
Honestly, the ad is outdated (at best) and therefore misleading, and thus, unworthy of inclusion in these pages IMO until it is edited to reflect the higher/real MSRP.
JMHO, feel free to ignore me.
I think the single motor version was supposed to be available for $35k, but that model didn’t come to the US (and may not, given the current market).
That makes sense Mattio. I watched a video review (by wowcars maybe?) on the Smart #1 (which they call ‘hashtag one’ which annoys the F out of me… I’d tell people it was the “number one” or “pound one”) which is built on the same Chinese platform as the Volvo EX30 and that Zeeker version too (and one more small EV crossover too… it’s hard to keep them all straight). The Smart #1 version was different than the Volvo, but also somewhat appealing in its own way. I don’t know if it’s coming to the states or not.
But even at the fictional $35K, that’s too much for these cars in their base configuration (btw, there’s a Brabus version of the Smart #1 too!)… when they’re mid $20Ks I think they’d be a lot easier to rationalize. Which, given the rapid depreciation of new cars in general, and of EVs in particular, ought to be when they’re just two or three years old at most.
I think its really awesome that they took up the challenge of jamming that v8 under the IQ’s impossibly short hood, unlike the usual mid engine layout you see with these types of builds.
Truly, impressive though is that they managed to fit 3000lbs in the footprint of an Austin Mini, and it doesn’t even have batteries.
Looks cool as heck. You’d have to have an f1 drivers reactions to control the thing if you got hard into the throttle. Dangerously mad!
I want it.
The side profile of this thing is simultaneously hilarious and gorgeous. Would love to own this.
DAMN IT
I love this ridiculous thing so damn much, but if I can’t also drive it to the grocery store, what is the point?
As Thomas said, you’d probably get it approved for Show or Display. That gives you 2,500 miles a year that you can drive it to the grocery store!
I admit I am not brushed up on the rules that allows for and was only reacting to what that sounds like. lol
Tons of paperwork, some guy got a 4ws svx on the list before the 25 year rule. So it’s possible, dunno if it helps that it’s a IQ. The idea of “special” doest just mean rare supercars.
“See, the team at Aston Martin’s Q branch looked at the body of a Cygnet and the 430-horsepower 4.7-liter V8 engine from a V8 Vantage S, made tea, and got to work. “
This “tea” of which you speak, may I have some too?
Nose Tea if you will.
This is the kind of fun vehicles that I love to see.
Looks like two handfuls of fun.
THIS looks like serious fun. Color is gorgeous too.
Somewhere someone saw it and decided they must do it. It’s seems like it would need to be counter weighted to hook up. I guess the IQ having a front mounted engine vs the smarts rear helped in being to shoehorn that. Too bad the IQ didn’t sell well. It would be fun to see them driving around with 4l Toyota V8s. Like v8 Vegas back in the day.