Cygnet - The £20K Aston martin

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JCE
I still think this is a load of waste without SOMETHING interesting. I don't care if it is a diesel hybrid, it needs something interesting about its drivetrain or its just a waste. I'd rather drive a MINI One or Smart FourTwo as my city car then my DB9/DBS on the weekends or holiday or whatnot.
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When you sit in a MINI, you're in a MINI. When you sit in a Smart ForTwo, you're in a Smart ForTwo. When you sit in a Cygnet, you're in a DBS.

This is a £7k car for £20k with a £120k interior. You won't care about performance and handling because the only place this little cacker is going is congested city roads. All you care about is that it doesn't cost you much to schlepp about and it's a nice place to sit in. They've got the bases covered - anything else is a waste.
 
The problem in my mind, is that when I see the Cygnet, all I can think of is this piece of trash.

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I mean, I can kind of see the point of it being a free city car for DBS owners, but it cheapens the brand so...Sticking an Aston badge and leather on an iQ is an even further stretch than sticking a Cadillac badge and leather on a Cavalier. I'd be happier if the car was offered without the goofy bodypanels and badging, and sold with the DBS.
 
I'd vote it brilliant on their part, and my guess is that it will be a trend that will be copied by others if it works well enough. Aston found a loophole large enough to drive a car through, and its called the Cygnet - kudos to them. If they're packaging a luxo interior in there, keeping it with the higher-out petrol engine, and making it feel like a legitimate Aston Martin product... Why not? It expands the product base, kicks the greenies in the teeth, and makes the emissions and fuel regulations work properly. Hooray!
 
All rich Dads can now justify getting a DBS to their wives in these hard times just by saying the Cygnet is for the kids to learn in :D
 
Jim Prower
I mean, I can kind of see the point of it being a free city car for DBS owners, but it cheapens the brand so...Sticking an Aston badge and leather on an iQ is an even further stretch than sticking a Cadillac badge and leather on a Cavalier. I'd be happier if the car was offered without the goofy bodypanels and badging, and sold with the DBS.
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How does it cheapen the brand when the only way to get one is buy a DBS? Sure if it was going to be sold mainstream I'd agree with you, but it's not. It's being offered to people who are buying proper Aston Martins.
 
dave a
how does it cheapen the brand when the only way to get one is buy a dbs? Sure if it was going to be sold mainstream i'd agree with you, but it's not. It's being offered to people who are buying proper aston martins.
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And if they try to sell their Cygnet?

I'm still on the fence. I like the idea, but it needs less iQ and more Aston Martin.
 
If it becomes mass production then yeah, it's bringing the brand down to a £20k market so it is cheapening it. But as it stands, the way things are confirmed so far it's not cheapening the brand at all since you would need to buy a proper Aston in the first place.

I like the idea, as long as it stays how it is and Aston don't decide to mass produce it. Astons should stay exclusive, it's part of thier brand.
 
Dave A
If it becomes mass production then yeah, it's bringing the brand down to a £20k market so it is cheapening it. But as it stands, the way things are confirmed so far it's not cheapening the brand at all since you would need to buy a proper Aston in the first place.

I like the idea, as long as it stays how it is and Aston don't decide to mass produce it. Astons should stay exclusive, it's part of thier brand.
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I meant if the DBS owner decides to sell their Cygnet. In the perfect situation it works, but I'm betting it won't take long for one to hit the market second-hand. Additionally, read the article. The exclusivity portion of its sale is pretty loosely worded and also mentions more than once full-market expansion.
 
No but the second hand market doesn't de-value the car brand since it's a market open to third parties and private sellers etc. It's all beyond Aston Martin. Does the fact you can but a Porsche for less than £5k second hand devalue the Porsche brand? No because the second hand market isn't attached to the new market in that way.

The fact no one can go out and just buy a brand new Cygnet for £20k or however much it ends up being worth is ultimately what matters here. So the car from the companies point of view doesn't bring Astons market down since as new the car isn't being offered to a lower market which is ultimately what will determine this.

The full market expansion is something we don't know enough about yet. It could mean Aston launch a new brand which takles a more mass market which would be the best option imo if they want to purue that. But we don't know the details to comment yet, if they do want to mass produce, market and sell a £20k car under the Aston Martin name then it won't be something I'd like to see. To be honest, I don't think this particular car can be sold on a mass scale, the idea is sound for what Aston purpose for it as detailed in the article, but I don't think it will ever sell enough to be profitable at £20k per unit.
 
Dave A
No but the second hand market doesn't de-value the car brand since it's a market open to third parties and private sellers etc. It's all beyond Aston Martin. Does the fact you can but a Porsche for less than £5k second hand devalue the Porsche brand? No because the second hand market isn't attached to the new market in that way.

The fact no one can go out and just buy a brand new Cygnet for £20k or however much it ends up being worth is ultimately what matters here. So the car from the companies point of view doesn't bring Astons market down since as new the car isn't being offered to a lower market which is ultimately what will determine this.

The full market expansion is something we don't know enough about yet. It could mean Aston launch a new brand which takles a more mass market which would be the best option imo if they want to purue that. But we don't know the details to comment yet, if they do want to mass produce, market and sell a £20k car under the Aston Martin name then it won't be something I'd like to see. To be honest, I don't think this particular car can be sold on a mass scale, the idea is sound for what Aston purpose for it as detailed in the article, but I don't think it will ever sell enough to be profitable at £20k per unit.
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You have to buy a DBS to get a Cygnet... slightly more expensive than £20k. I don't think Aston would ever undermine themselves by selling an eco car.
 
I know, that's what my whole point was about. The fact Aston are only offering it when you buy a DBS preventing it from lowing thier market regardless of second hand sales of the car which will inevitably pop up at some point. And the £20k is what the cars esimated sale value will be, you buy the DBS and the for £20k more you get a Cygnet. I think you have misunderstood my post a little.

As for then not selling an eco car, that's exactley what the Cygnet is, an eco car, and Aston are selling it, to DBS buyers. I think I get what you meant though :).

Aston have expressed an interest in a mainstream city car as discussed in the posts above, but quite how they would go about that remains to be seen.
 
So, official photos have been released...

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(Sorry for the massiveness...)

Source: AutoBlogGreen

Blah blah ugly blah blah dilutes the brand blah blah Toyota in drag blah... I still want one for tooling about the city in. That interior looks mighty comfortable. It's certainly a more successful job than the outside.

Think of it not as a car, but as Aston Martin merchandise that you can drive...
 
I love that rear! The interior is pretty damn special too. It's still ridiculous though!
 
it better have at least slight bump in power, or half of those lovely V12's under the hood..
 
Hahahaha... hahaha. I just can't take it seriously. The interior is highly flamboyant with the reds and blacks as in a Pagani Zonda. I'd sit in it- it looks mighty cosy in there.

I think I'd buy the Aston to get this, then sell the Aston so this could be my daily driver. Uber-luxury runabout ftw.
 
The interior is just bloody fantastic. The rear and sides look good. The front however...ok but not great. If it came with a 6spd and at least 120-150bhp I'd be happy. But it won't and so I'm not. It will have an automatic and not even 100bhp--try 98bhp.
 
It is an abomination. How in the world Aston Martin got this idea ? I normally don't associate Aston Martin with compact city car. What if Lamborghini or Porsche did a car like this ?
 
It looks like some idiot bought a Smart and changed the front to an Aston Martin.


Really, what exactly made Aston Martin(known for heavy sports cars) make a small econo-box?
 
LIL_KACHING
It is an abomination. How in the world Aston Martin got this idea ? I normally don't associate Aston Martin with compact city car. What if Lamborghini or Porsche did a car like this ?
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Justin
It looks like some idiot bought a Smart and changed the front to an Aston Martin.


Really, what exactly made Aston Martin(known for heavy sports cars) make a small econo-box?
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I believe the original reason was to do with reducing the emissions average on their product line-up.

Hence why it's almost an off-the-shelf iQ and there'll be little work done to the engine.
 
I think I agree with HFS. That interior almost completely makes up for the idea.

But considering that they're not selling it to the general public, instead, giving it away with each supercar purchase, makes it less pointless than it seemed at first...

I think it's a swell idea. Instead of getting a bespoke watch or a pair of shoes from the Pope's cobbler, you get a little toy kitted out to look like your big toy, and it has the same fantastic interior.

Totally pointless. Absolutely awesome. I love/hate it.

EPIC FAIL-WIN. Nothing in between. :lol:
 
LIL_KACHING
It is an abomination. How in the world Aston Martin got this idea ? I normally don't associate Aston Martin with compact city car. What if Lamborghini or Porsche did a car like this ?
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Yeah, I mean... next Lamborghini and Porsche will be making off-roaders!

Oh... wait...

Also, congratulations to the people missing the point entirely. The Cygnet is very clever marketing. It's an Aston for people who don't want to drive their £100k+ supercar around a crowded city centre and pay through the nose for the privelege (in London for example, a DB9 or similar would cost a fortune in both fuel and congestion charging, not to mention the risk of driving something that expensive). It's easy to drive and park (iQs have better turning circles than black cabs), only as quick as it needs to be for something that'll only ever be used in the city (which is why it doesn't need lots of power, guys) and as opulent inside as they'd expect from their normal Aston.

It's also cheap for Aston to produce because they haven't had to develop the platform themselves, and it's unlikely to do any damage to the brand mainly because it's only being sold to Aston owners, and because it's going to be a small production run, even if they start appearing on the second hand market you can bet the £20k value won't drop much - and you can get a DB7 for less than £20k now. And a DB7 probably wouldn't be as exclusive.
 
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