Built by Aston for a customer, the 430 hp posh Toyota IQ can reach 62 mph in 4.2 seconds and touch 170 mph
February 28, 2025 at 08:28
- A one-off V8-powered Aston Martin Cygnet has come up for sale.
- The factory-built custom has a 4.7-liter engine from a Vantage S.
- In 2018 the Super Cygnet made its debut at the Goodwood FoS.
In the late 2000s Aston Martin’s then-boss Uli Betz greenlighted a wacky plan to badge-engineer the Toyota IQ city car to create an Aston-branded urban runaround. But then an Aston customer came up with an even wackier plan and commissioned the factory to stuff a V8 in one.
Related: Aston Martin Cygnet Gets The V8 Engine An Aston Deserves
You might remember the Super Cygnet from the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, when it caused a stir thundering up Lord March’s driveway. Now that same one-off car is for sale through marque specialists Nicholas Mee.
A Radical Transformation
Starting with a stock, right-hand drive Cygnet, Aston’s engineers totally transformed it over a 10 month period, hauling out the puny 1.33-liter, 97 hp (98 PS) Toyota engine and dropping in a 430 hp (436 PS), 4.7-liter V8 from a Vantage S that sends power to the rear wheels through Aston’s clunky seven-speed Sport Shift paddle-shift transmission.
That drivetrain mod wasn’t a simple swap because the Cygnet is front-wheel drive. Aston crammed the Vantage front and rear subframe assemblies and suspension into the shell, resulting in a massively wider track and giant transmission tunnel inside the cockpit. The cabin is also home to a roll cage, Recaro bucket seats and a carbon fiber dashboard containing a full set of Vantage gauges.
Performance: A Tiny Monster
Aston reckoned the Super Cygnet could hit 62 mph (100 kmh) in 4.2 seconds and probably reach 170 mph (274 kmh) if you were feeling brave enough. Check out the clip of the car running at the FoS in 2018 and it certainly looks rapid. It also looks more than a little twitchy as it gets near the top of the Goodwood hill, which is probably down to the tiny 2,020 mm (79.5 inches) wheelbase.
The Super Cygnet’s original owner has covered just 2,900 miles (4,700 km) in the green mutant, but has now decided to pass it on. Even ordinary Cygnets are changing hands for more than £28,000 in the UK ($35,000), versus £4,000 ($5,000) for an IQ, but this is definitely no ordinary Cygnet, so it was always going to be expensive.
The Price of Madness
According to Nicholas Mee’s ad (check it out here), the price is listed as POA (Price on Application), but the company told us they’re hoping to get £450,000 ($566,000). Yes, that’s an awful lot of money. For that price, you could buy yourself a proper Aston Martin—just maybe not one that’ll make you the center of attention the way this absurd little thing will.
