Aston’s Cygnet packs punch as new city car that’s big on style

Meet the Aston Martin V8 Cygnet – the incredible dream of one customer made real by the British firm’s ‘Q’ commission service.

It doesn’t take much of a look to realise this is no ordinary version of the Toyota iQ-based city car, with an extended track width leading to some seriously eye-catching wheel arches.

You won’t find a tiny 1.3-litre engine here, though. Hiding under that bodywork is a 4.7-litre V8 unit lifted from the Vantage S sports car, producing 430bhp and 490Nm of torque that’s sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission.

The result is 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds – even quicker than the Vantage – along with a top speed of 170mph.

Improvements have been made to the chassis in an effort to contain this extra power.

A roll cage has been welded in for extra rigidity, while subframes and the suspension from the outgoing Vantage have been fitted in the name of handling prowess.

Elsewhere, 19in alloys house sixpiston brake callipers up front, with four-piston units at the rear – with the wheels themselves wrapped in Bridgestone tyres.

Just so it stands out even further, the V8 Cygnet features twin central exhaust pipes – just in case those wider arches didn’t give the game away.

David King, Aston Martin vice-president and special operations officer, said: “The V8 Cygnet shows the fun side of both Aston Martin and its customers.

“It is also a fine example of the engineering talent within the company, as it’s no small achievement to fit the Vantage’s V8 engine so harmoniously into the Cygnet’s compact body.”

There’s no word on how much this cost the customer who requested a V8 Cygnet but expect to pay around £30k for a base car on the used market – and then a lot more to Aston Martin to give it the same treatment if you want one yourself.

Small is beautiful when it comes to the new V8 Cygnet from Aston Martin.