Can't stretch to a DB9 or Rapide? Then try the Cygnet, suggests DAVE MOORE.
The Cygnet is designed specifically for the British motorist who has everything, except for city transport to match the Aston he or she uses for the weekend jaunt down to the country seat.
You see, it just doesn't do to expose oneself to colds and flu by using public transport, so the tube, bus and even the black cab are to be avoided. You never know what germs and stains you might pick up.
Which means a car it has to be, and although a Golf or Smart is classless enough to pass muster, anyone who is "something in the city", or even more important than that, needs something as special as their normal car but a little more compact.
Enter the Cygnet, which is simply one of Toyota's engaging and outstandingly clever iQ city cars after a serious course at Aston Martin's special finishing school.
The city environment is not, and never has been, a place where the traditional sporting qualities of an Aston Martin can excel. Aston Martin's sports cars thrive in the context of a thrilling open road, the sensation of driving, the pleasure of the journey and the relationship between driver and machine.
The Aston Martin Cygnet Concept redresses the balance by offering Aston Martin qualities and values in a car that is designed for the heart of the city.
The Cygnet Concept is small. At just under three metres long, the car is a highly refined piece of packaging, designed to make fast progress within dense European cityscapes.
With four seats and an intelligent interior, the car can be configured in several ways, allowing for a two-plus- two seating system, a two-plus-one seating system or a two-seater with a large luggage area.
The Cygnet has a 1.3 litre four- cylinder engine, offering carbon- dioxide emissions of 110 grams per kilometre and combined fuel- economy figures of 4.7 litres per 100km, with a power output of 75 kilowatts. The Cygnet has a six-speed manual gearbox, with the MultidriveTM CVT system available as an option. The Cygnet comes with an advanced technology package as standard, including a satellite navigation system, iPod integration and a six-speaker radio/CD player.
The Cygnet's interior is a demonstration of Aston Martin's skill at creating handcrafted interiors. The rich mix of hand-stitched leather, Alcantara and aluminium is shared with the company's sports cars.
The Cygnet Concept is not hand- finished out of deference to tradition, but because skilled craftsmanship can achieve a far higher quality of finish than machine production. It also means the Cygnet is fully open to Aston Martin's personalisation programme, allowing for practically any combination of interior and exterior trim, colour and finish to be completed to an exacting personal specification.
In this way, a customer's Cygnet could, for instance, be designed to precisely complement their full-sized Aston Martin sports car, sharing the same bespoke specification.
Aston Martin believes that between 2000 and 4000 Cygnets could be sold annually in Europe alone, with each car forming a natural extension of existing Aston Martin ownership, a supplementary product that exists in tandem with the company's range of luxury sports cars. A substantial proportion of Aston Martin owners have several cars in their fleet. Almost a quarter own a small car.
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