Aston UGLY ducking? The Aston Martin Cygnet Story
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- čas přidán 9. 11. 2023
- Aston Martin is known for its loud, brash sports cars. It’s what James Bond jumps into to get out of trouble, so it’s understandable that there was quite a bit of head scratching in the Aston community when the company announced they were going to release the Cygnet - a small city car that wasn’t even tuned for performance. Why did Aston release this car that was so clearly not an Aston? How could they justify selling it for three times the price of the car it was based on, and can you get one today for a bargain price?
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#bigcar - Auta a dopravní prostředky
We own a 2013 Scion iQ, which is my wife's daily driver. It has suffered 2 deer strikes, which would have totalled an average car. However, the plastic body parts are so inexpensive (the front bumper cover is only $98) that the insurance rebuilt it twice. The wife absolutely loves her "little car".
But if it was a Cygnet I guess the deer would cost way more 😂
Oh wow, twice!
@@igormac88I wonder if Aston even still sells spares, seeing how they largely want you to forget the thing exists.
You mean two deers have suffered Scion strikes.
@@colinthorn 😆
I think Aston not only looked for a small car but a small high-quality car and so Toyota was the natural choice.
I get what you mean, but 'quality' is a complicated term. For you it probably means "well built" and "long lasting", because that is what you want from a car. In general however it means how well something fulfills expectations. Even "well built" is questionable here - how 'well' can a car be built in 11 hours? Regarding the qualities of luxurious lifestyle cars, Toyota is pretty bad. I just think the car was too small to tick enough of the boxes Aston customers wanted.
I legitimately saw one of these on the road last month. I work in Gaydon, so seeing Aston Martins on the road is nothing unusual but THIS! First time ever.
A VW Bora story would be an interesting topic. I consider it a car that made the Jetta into it's own design rather than a booted Golf that the previous 3 generations essentially were.
i second that
I never understood how "Jetta" is a better name than "Bora".
@@UncleJoeLITE only because it was around for so long, and north america never got the name changes for it
Vw boring
@@UncleJoeLITE VW thought renaming the 3rd and 4th gen Jetta would somehow make it sell better in Europe. Though I must say, Bora was pretty popular over here in the Balkans.
I’m not saying I need an Aston Martin Cygnet but I’d feel a lot better if I had one😂
They're still £30k ($37k) or more with 45,000 miles on the clock these days.
@@bw1376 I’m saying I need $37k but I’d feel a lot better if I had it
I saw the Cygnet for the first time in a game, Driver: San Francisco, I was still in middle school when the game was first released.
As an innocent little boy who already knew about Aston Martin, I saw that the Cygnet was not an ugly car but a unique car. Seeing Aston Martin make a city car was what made the Cygnet unique for me and it is still one of the Aston Martins that I remember most to this day.
It's a great game. It's a shame it was pulled from stores.
I remember tripping over these things all the time when I lived in central London, a walk from Victoria to Knightsbridge would yield at least a dozen of them, I've even got pictures on my Flickr of them parked side-by-side, nose-to-nose or across the street from each other. 🙂
Another superb video! 😁
Hi Ruaridh! Love your channel!
Hi, I'm also a fan!
Me too!!
One "luxury" small car that coms to mind is Lancia Y10 and its followers. Leather and alcantara, electric windows and central locking, and even four wheel drive available, in mid -80's in a small hatch.
And in fact the last Lancia to be built.
I have one of the rare manuals (only 112 LHD made), drive it quite rarely and am just glad to have it in my Garage 😊
Does it get serviced at Aston Martin or Toyota dealerships? Are parts' prices increased because of the badge?
These are super cool now!
@@goncalo33: Technically 1:1 Toyota and this dealership is around the corner. Maintenance costs almost nothing! And it’s still in as new condition
@ That's good. What about specific interior parts that are Aston Martin's doing? Do they still manufacture those?
Toyota IQ = Hotpoint washing machine on wheels. AS Cygnet = Miele Washer Dryer on wheels 😂😂😂
Thanks for another great video!
The Cygnet was so brilliantly bizarre that it was never going to be anything less than a classic. Love it!
I saw one of these in Portugal last year, my brother was adamant it was an Ayego, couldn't believe it when he saw the badge. Some pay anything just for a badge ..
it has nice interior materials tho
That Cygnet has got to be the ultimate clutch-bag accessory. 😆
I'm staggered that they haven't depreciated _at all_ in a decade! Surely the market only exists in Monaco and upper-class bits of London. But then, there are so few of them around in the first place, so I guess collectors see an opportunity...
When you look at some of the auto trader listings you can see there houses are measured in acres, it would make a good golf cart for the mansion grounds
I really wanted to buy one in 2012 - but my wife said nasty stuff about my mental state... Thank you very much - one of the coolest cars of the last decade.
Thanks for the support!
@BigCar2 unlike his wife
The Rapide name is not illogical at all. The Lagonda Rapide was an early 60es 4 door car. With Aston themselves lacking any 4 door tradition it is no surprise they scrolled through old model namings of their defunct subsidary to find something fit to suit a car with rear doors.
I saw one in Rome while i was studying abroad, parked with a note on the dash saying essentially: 1) yes its for sale, 2) yes it is actually an Aston Martin
We went to a launch promotion for the Cygnet and took a test drive. As expected the performance was uninspiring but the fit and finish was exceptional. I particularly remember the quality of the paint job, it was brilliant. Price however ruled it out, we bought a Smart Fortwo and never looked back.
Smart pretty much covered that market years beforehand, you'd have thought that Aston would have taken note of the former's lackluster results
This is the second on my top five "must have" Astons, right behind the 2006 V12 Vanquish S. 🥰
I like this car, I really like it. Is a good car to drive around the city in comfort...
I would love to own one of these just for the novelty factor, I love small cars like this and having an Aston version would be fantastic (outside of any body panel costs in case of damage).
The V8 version is bonkers, it's gone up the Goodwood Hillclimb before and looked like it was going to do a wheelie at the start lol. It sounds absolutely glorious too and is the perfect type of weird car that I'd love to have built if I had tons of cash.
The Cygnet is arguably the best Aston ever for city driving and the comedy value of 'hop in the Aston' is gold. For practical city living this car is awesome. I want one!
From what I remember the car it is based on - the Toyota - has many, many airbags and is properly engineered for safety. Toyota price parts too. What is not to like?
Not to like? Everything. What an AWFUL idea.
@@gottliebdee263 yes, it is an overpriced Toyota that only came to existence because they wanted to cheap on fleet emision so has basicly no right to be out there
So few of these were made and somehow I've seen TWO in my country. One of them was in my hometown and another one was at a hospital.
Regardless of the poor public reception, this definitely wasn't a bad car, not by a long shot.
More reliable than any other "real" aston🤭
Bar the terrible value.
Well, it was a Toyota after all
@@dot7107 Because of course you have owned one and don't judge by opinionated hearsay...
I love the IQ. A Friend drove one - for one or two people you lower the back seats and have enough room for a shopping tour. With 3 people its also pretty easy and if you are desperate you can drive 5 people. It wasn’t perfect but for short distances it was ok. It also packed all our Festival-Stuff with tend and everything for two. I would always choose a IQ over a Smart Fortwo!
The interior in this car is fabulous. Would love to own one to add some luxury to local commuting.
Cygnet is the reason why Aston can still sell cars at all. Appreciate the Aygo!
Bizarre ! They certainly hold their price (:
Now imagine if Lexus did an upmarket version of the IQ...
Great video, I loved all the details, I learned so much, yet it dovetailed perfectly into Doug's review. I remember the V8 Cygnet on Top Gear and I remember seeing the iQ new at the Toronto International Autoshow and specifically wanting a look at those "back seats".
I saw TWO of them in Paris. Seems like the perfect car for that city
Thanks for this video - you rounded of my Friday YT viewing wonderfully! 😀
Another fascinating story and so well researched. I really appreciate these and will of course contribute sponsorship.
www.patreon.com/bigcar
Thanks!
I saw a Burago model of the Cygnet in Spain a few years ago. They probably made more than Aston Martin produced of the actual car. Autotrader had a Cygnet for sale a while back at under £20k. I didn't buy it, but have regretted it ever since. What they're worth now would have made it a pretty shrewd investment.
Saw one in Monaco in September. Perfect for the principality, prestige brand but small for city driving and easy to park.
I remember seeing one of these in Kensington and my wife thought I lost my mind over how excited I was over this city car.
I foolishly passed on buying a Nari edition Toyota IQ several years ago for £6500. It would have easily held its value, maybe even increased a little :(
I knew about the current prices at the end beforehand, but only because something had driven me to look this up previously, which I can't remember why. It could have been as simple a thing as, 'I wonder if I could cheekily get into an Aston Martin on the cheap this way?' and discovering very much 'no'. :) Nice timing though, hopefully I'm getting to go out in a couple of its older relatives next week! Old gift to redeem. Thanks for the great vid.
It's an ugly little car, but a great story!
Thank you for explaining it in such great detail, without your video I would've never understood the logic of Aston Martin making (or at least selling) such a vehicle!
A perfect example of where pointless and illogical government intervention achieves nothing other than hurting the bottom line (and image) of an already struggling car maker, and a British institution!
Aston weren’t the first to do this sort of thing, think the “Wood and Pickett” Mini with its luxurious interior.
I cant think why somebody would pay £30-40000 for a little city car, ok it’s got an Aston Martin Badge with its Aston interior, but we think of an Aston in the sense of the DB cars not a Toyota made little car with an Aston Martin “Suit”.
A nice looking car and very comfortable but far too pricey for the average person looking for an economical city car.
Good informative well researched video as always.👍
No AM has EVER been aimed at Mr./Mrs. Average.....
unless by a rich t*** asserting his right of way.....
Here in California, the owner of a dealership called gallpen has the Cygnet, which was at the Frankford motor show.
I saw one in central Paris in 2015 , don’t remember seeing one here in the UK. The paint looked great…
I have often thought of driverless trains as horizontal elevators. Elevators used to have an operator on board controlling its functions.
That Aston Martin badge comes at a high price when they are new.
All the Astons i have owned were mint used samples at more affordable prices.
until it came to repairs and the parts were very expensive.
Aston Martin has made some mistakes over the years even with it's more sensible
models, but this one made no sense at all.
You can use inexpensive Toyota parts for most repairs, so this car makes sense for people who want but cannot afford a used Aston.
Not for an Aston Martin Vantage you can't!
I can understand anyone wanting an Aston Martin, but not this one.
I saved up for many years before i could afford one that was desirable and with some spare funds
for when it went wrong.@@Mnkskanal
If only we got them here in the States. I’d love one.
Another great video. Pity those flush door handles didn't make production.
Wow what a coincidence - have just been watching a video on here called Metro Madness about rare versions of the Austin Metro...an Aston Martin related one being the Fraser Tickford Metro!
I hoped to own one of these at one point.
But they never came to New Zealand, sadly.
I would have loved to paint it with blackboard paint, and drawn chalk Feynman diagrams all over it. :)
We never had these in Australia nor the Toyota iQ. I'd really like to see both in a comparison video.
I've only ever seen the Cygnet in the flesh once, and it was in Stockholm of all places. It had the branded throw cushions in the back too 👍
I have always liked the Cygnet and thought it was a really good idea. I had a watch on a online auction site and your not wrong I’ve never seen one less than it’s original price 😢.
Thank you for another excellent vid.
truly one of the nuggets of all time mate
Please do the genius Citroen GS!
I had one loaned to me once and I was forever nailing the loud pedal to the floor just to get it moving! Should have been badged 'L'escargot'.
Agreed,stunning looks and luxury suspension but as fast as Brian the 🐌.
Great video as always
Good job - great video
Probably the most reliable Aston ever made. Had Aston's for 20 years, and Jeremy Clarkson was right when he compared the build quality to Mr potato head. Don't ever have one as your only car, unless you like public transport.
I saw one today, the first I have seen for maybe five years. Really like it
I’ve never seen one and probably never will but, back in 2008, I thought I did.
Within a few days, seeing more and close up, I realised it was the largest incarnation of the Ford Fiesta 🤣🤣🤣
Really enjoyable and informative video as always.
If they were around, back in the day, when I was a field service engineer in Boston, I’d have gotten one.
Wow what a crazy car! Recently had a Citroën C1 as a loaner while my car was in the shop. So would love to see its story given that Toyota and Peugeot also make versions of it! 😁👌
Aston Martin Cygnet was based on the Toyota iQ. It wasn't related to the Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 or Peugeot 107/108.
Cygnet was very bizarre idea 😳 Its a pity that you haven't done more stories from BMW. It would be nice to hear how the New Class was born ☺In the Dolomite video you revealed the subject a bit 🤨
doug dimuro did a video on the quirks and features, which is also worth a watch.
It is.
I saw one in the wild just a few weeks ago, in Garbsen (Germany, near Hannover) of all places! I never thought I'd see one, and seeing it in the flesh quickly made me think just how daft a car it really was!
Great treatment of the Cygnet. Thank you.
I love the Cygnet. It's a ridiculous concept to put Aston Martin design on a short city-car body, but it looks adorable. Sadly I'm not wealthy enough to purchase one of these bad boys
and they are still 30k for a used 2012 one .... with 50k on the clock ... its nuts
The most reliable, best engineered and the best made Aston Martin ever :)
Haha true it has that accolade.
I always liked the idea of the cygnet, but bringing in fully built iq's then modifying was always going be an expensive exercise. If the iq's could've brought in CKD they may have been able to set a lower price point.
I would've made it a two seater and installed lashing eyes in the floor to secure small loads with readily available loadstraps and bungee ropes.
It doesn't work very well as a full blown four seater, however neat the packaging of the car is.
I live in Wakefield and maybe 3 months ago coming out of the Pot oil car park in Wrenthorpe was an Adton Martin cygnet with the plate CY12NET . They are pretty cool but what were they i don't know but bet its at least 3 times what the IQ was .
Great video sir! I must say that a polished turd is still, well, you know. But I still want one. 😂🤦♂️
Fab vid as always
Dont understand why Toyota didnt create a "barebones" option code to just leave out all of the stuff Aston took out anyway. They could have split the savings with AM.
I've seen one. One. Ever. Not far from the Russian embassy on Kensington. The interior looked scrummy, but the grille was more Dagenham than Newport Pagnell.
I have never seen another.
It was a Toyota with a re-trim by Connolly.
And that, frankly, would have been cheaper and nicer.
My second favourite AM after the Lagonda. A 1980 Lagonda design with the length of a Cygnet. A stroller that the very wealthy baby hates. 10K easily .
I imagine that Aston did not want to sell « cheap » cars under their brand. That is why they put so much efforts in the interior, to try to justify the price and the name.
Story would probably have ended differently if they had only tweaked the Toyota slightly, improve slightly the engine and drivetrain and buffed up the interior to, let say, a fully loaded Audi A1 standard.
They would have sold more cars and entered the profitable luxury mass market.
brilliant video. I did wonder about how car companies were dodging the CO2 emissions.
now I know with the credits they can buy
Great content as usual, thank you. I have always wondered, not to the point of actually researching it but even so I have always pondered on why Aston made this curious little car, should have known really it would be something to do with meddling governments!
The cheapest cygnet on sale right now (late 2023) is £29,000. You can get a DB9 or Vantage for much less than that...
Oh and you can get a toyota IQ for £2,000
The "Mini Inspired by Goodwood" is probably the closest rival to the Cygnet
Aston Martin: *releases the cygnet
everyone: WTF!?
I know my advice is way too late to help Aston on this, but they should've called Mazda to partner to develop the MX-5 into a much better choice for a baby Aston. Leather, fenders, bumper, and hood would've been all they needed to alter! They might have sold 10,000 a year or more.
Not such a good fit on a super-yacht though. ;-)
Q: How to make a beautiful MX5?
A: Fiat124/Abarth124
@Mnkskanal I'm not a fan, actually. I think they did a particularly poor representation of the original, especially on the headlights. MX5 still looks better.
The entire point of the Cygnet was to pull down the average environmental impact of their range by introducing a model with terrifically low emissions - essentially to skirt emissions laws. They needed something that would both do that and not temper their reputation for fierce grand touring cars. The Cygnet is very obviously "not an Aston", if they'd based it on an MX5 it would have made a very bad impression.
@Rapscallion2009 why? A 2 seat sports car with great pedigree and low emissions would actually sell and not be thought of as a joke. Cygnet was a numbers game that failed.
They should've built mor Cygnet V8's. I'd love to have one
It was a bit tragic but it's also kind of cool. I wouldn't mind having one ;)
They should have sold the Toyota IQ as a Lexus. This would have distinguished it further away from the Aygo and made the Cygnet look a bit less preposterous. It would have given Lexus some inventory to sell that wasn't a big saloon or SUV..
A Lexus IQ130 could have been a good competitor for brand conscious consumers who would have otherwise bought a Mini.
There used to be a Cygnet parked behind a high end Jewellers in Harrogate, even as a small car the paint and grill gave it presence - nice car but £40k😂
You need to make a video about the story of the first gen BMW 1-series
My sister has an IQ 1.4 DiD that I've advised her to buy. I love to drive it, one of the best manual gearboxes in the market, it realy feels a sports car, it drifts beautifuly, its very stable because of its abnormal width, the wheels form almost a sqare. Btw, the interior is assimetric, the passanger has a lot of space in front, so you can pull the seat and carry 3 in comfort. I love the car.
She had a Smart with the worst automatic gearbox I've experienced, unreliable, worst car ever, I hated it. The IQ is miles better, a proper car.
It wasn't cost effective to add more isable features, but it was to spend 50 hours on the paint job?! No wonder they got sold to Tata...
I test drove an IQ back in the day and thought it was great. It already wasn't the cost-cutting, bargain-bin special that you would expect from a tiny car like an Aygo or similar. I actually think it would have done better in Europe if it had been slightly more expensive and badged as a Lexus. So I think it was probably the best option for Aston at the time -
The main fail IMO was the rear seats - the packaging was fantastic but still couldn't break the laws of physics, so I suspect Toyota ended up disappointing those needing rear seats, and those that didn't had no proper cargo area. Those that did make it work must have been heroes, contortionists, or members of Greenpeace's S&M division.
As someone who likes quality stuff, but doesn't need, want, or is able to afford some obnoxiously huge luxury SUV, I can see myself as the target market for the Cygnet if my current self was in 2012. Even if the outside is a bit meh, the interior (i.e. the part the person who actually paid for it spends most of their time looking at) is truly wonderful. My guess for the failure is that they got too greedy with the price, or it was just not the right time.
I remember the day Dr Bez announced that Cygnet was one of the strategies....it was an amazing meeting. Bonkers was the result 😊
These makes so much sense, most small city cars are great to drive around town, but painfully boring, and most would hate to be seen in one, i imagine that this would be the only way to arrive at a movie premiere, if you're anyone important, and of course small don't have to mean cheep, quality cost, no matter the size, look at a pair of shoes, same price size 4 or size 12, same with car's, you pay for quality, not size.
It's quite incredible that a citycar has retained all of its value, the only depreciation is the inflation.
Cygnets occasionally pop up for sale in Germany, usually north of 40 or 50k Euros, always exclaiming "RARE!!!"
Also, I can't imagine maintenance being fun, now that Aston has largely wiped the thing from their history. Good luck getting any Cygnet-specific parts.
it is a Toyota based car buy the parts from them
@@dylanjimenez1952 Toyota doesn't stock Aston-Specific parts.
@@Happymali10 the car is a Toyota. watch the video again or research it online
@@dylanjimenez1952Did you watch the video?
Headlights, bumper cover, taillights, grille, interior, a whole lot of non-Toyota parts.
Amazed how used prices suddenly shot up. IIRC they went down to £8k and then almost immediately doubled.
I would like it more if sports car brands today would produce something like this instead of another stupid "performance" SUV tho
Didn’t Ferrari do an ‘inspired by Ferrari’ badge Fiat 500 Arbarth under the same legislation?
I actually saw one of the in person recently parked up in Holmfirth for several days with parking tickets littered on the windscreen.
It got a lot of people taking selfies next to it.
I wrote this before watching. The introduction asked the question, "why did they make it?" I believe it was to lower the brand's fuel economy numbers.
I have wanted one of these since they debuted!....it is wonderfully ridiculous!
It was never a 2+2 car , but it was market as a 3+1 car.( and that ben already the understatement of the century 😅)