Aston Martin Attempts to Justify the Unjustified with Cygnet Video

A Toyota iQ with the 1.33-liter gasoline engine will set you back £12,775 (US$19,900 or €15,100) in Britain. A base Aston Martin Cygnet with the same drivetrain will cost you £31,000 (US$48,300 or €36,300) but can approach the £50,000 mark (!), depending on the edition.

If you do the math, you'll find that the entry-level Cygnet costs almost two and a half times more than the car it is based on, and which is available in North America under the Scion brand with prices starting from $15,995.

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Aston Martin Releases $70,550 / €48,995 Fashion-Trendy Cygnet Special

The Cygnet is on its way to becoming a true Aston Martin, but not in the sense you might think. We are referring to its price tag with the release of a new limited run special called “Cygnet & colette” that will set buyers back a whopping €48,995, equal to £43,800 and US$70,550!

That’s £18,000 or US$29,000 more than the entry-level Cygnet. This kind of money can buy you a Porsche Boxster in the UK and you would still have more than £7,000 left for spending! And all this for a car that is essentially a re-trimmed Toyota iQ…

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Video: Bloomberg’s Adam Haynes on the Aston Martin Cygnet

You can’t spell, “Cygnet” without, “cynical marketing ploy”. The Toyota iQ-derived stocking stuffer iPhone accessory subcompact has prompted a neat little op-ed piece by Bloomberg correspondent (an ex-pat Aussie) Adam Haynes that includes some fascinating dialogue from Aston Martin insiders.

Most of our readers will know by now that the Cygnet exists purely to counteract the 120 grams of CO2 per kilogram EU carbon restrictions to be introduced in 2012. With a combined CO2 g/km rating of 400, Aston Martin’s current fleet of high performance vehicles could never match this.

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