Once upon a time, Aston Martin thought a city car should be… well, tiny. So, it took the Toyota iQ, sprinkled some British luxury on it, and called it the Cygnet. It was adorable, sophisticated, and completely out of place in Aston’s lineup. Clearly, someone at Aston Martin agreed because in 2018, they built a one-off, V8-powered version that was as outrageous as it was brilliant.
Enter the Aston Martin V8 Super Cygnet, a compact hatchback with the heart of a beast. Gone was the original 1.3L engine with a polite 97 hp (72 kW), replaced by a monstrous 4.7L V8 from the Vantage S. That meant 430 hp (321 kW) and 361 lb-ft (490 Nm) of torque, channeled through a seven-speed transaxle to the rear wheels. The mild-mannered city car was now a full-fledged pocket rocket, blasting from 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in just 4.2 seconds and topping out at 170 mph (274 km/h).
Of course, this transformation required more than just an engine swap. The once-adorable Cygnet was reengineered with Vantage S subframes, a welded-in roll cage, and a menacing widebody aero kit. It sat on 19-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires (235/40R19 front, 275/35R19 rear), looking like it wanted to pick a fight with every supercar in sight. Inside, the plush city car comforts were replaced with Recaro bucket seats, a removable Alcantara steering wheel, and a fire extinguisher—just in case things got too spicy.
Debuting at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the V8 Super Cygnet stunned onlookers as it screamed up the hill, proving that even the smallest Aston could throw a serious punch. Only one was ever built, making it one of the most hilariously excessive yet deeply desirable cars Aston Martin ever created.
Now for the real good news. After hoarding this one-of-one Super Cygnet for 7 years, Aston Martin is letting it go. So, yeah, it is up for grabs. But I think most of us will not be ready for the asking price. The price isn’t explicitly spelled out. Instead, it is listed as “PoA”, or Price on Application (aka Price on Request) on Nicholas Mee’s website, and you know what that means. It means it is probably too expensive for any average person—that’s to put it politely. Ouch. Skip ahead for more awesome images.
Images: Nicholas Mee.
via Top Gear.
