Aston Martin Cygnet is Back... With a V8

[FT-1]

Aston Martin stuck the running gear of the Vantage S into the Cygnet.

Just because.

 

[kikie]

Aston Martin stuck the running gear of the Vantage S into the Cygnet.

Just because.

... they can!?

Amazing that how Aston's engineer's were able to fit the huge motor in such a little car and still leave room for pedals and seats.

 

[TheCracker]

Ummmm. Looks like a clown car.

 

[INEEDNAWZZZ]

I think it's cool that Aston even still acknowledges the Cygnet was a thing, let alone going to all that effort.

 

[05XR8]

RC F V8 in an Aygo? Yes?

 

[Epic B]

... they can!?

Amazing that Aston's engineer's were able to fit the huge motor in such a little car and still leave room for pedals and seats.

The engine bay is in fact the TARDIS.

Say what you want about the Cygnet but this is awesome.

RC F V8 in an Aygo? Yes?

TS050 Hybrid drivetrain in a Corolla. Wouldn't be too far off the GT300 Prius.

 

[lbpomg95]

If only there were more cars like this. More utterly, gloriously stupid cars like this.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

That actually sounds pretty amazing! It makes me think of other crazed hatchbacks like the Toyota Aygo Crazy, Renault Clio V6, or the VW Golf W12 Concept.

 

[Dave A]

There's often a couple of Cygnets in the Aston dealership in Wilmslow near me, they're expensive little blighters. This one is insane, I imagine it's twitchy with that short a wheelbase.

 

[05XR8]

The SHOgun is a classic favorite. I owned one...









... of the Festiva '89 4-speed base models.

 

[TheOverdriver]

Imagine seeing this at a drag race
It’s almost as fast as a C63 or M3

 

[Just The Stig]

Oh my 🤬 God, a city pocket-rocket with a massive V8 jammed in it's nose. What's not to like?

It would be on my wishlist if it weren't a one-off...shame.

 

[TexRex]

Meh...needs two transversely mounted W12s.

 

[Epic B]

Ummmm. Looks like a clown car.

Meh...needs two transversely mounted W12s.

Maybe they could do a twin engine Cygnet. They crammed a V8 under the hood, maybe they could find room behind the seats. They've already ripped out the back seats.

 

[TexRex]

Really the only logical thing is to have the front wheels driven by a twin-charged W16 and the rear wheels driven by two twin-charged W12s mated together a la Cizeta V16T--probably not enough room for 32 cylinders in the rear...

 

[Auditore]

This is the kind of car i would find in Gran Turismo 4 and think "this thing exists in real life?"

 

[Epic B]

They should offer Cygnet owners this conversion.

 

[TheOverdriver]

This deserves a Forza horizon 4 appearance, possibly as dlc

 

[Auditore]

This deserves a Forza horizon 4 appearance, possibly as dlc

Now they have the excuse to have a V8 option for upgrades

 

[aw11 mr2]

BMW needs to make an i3 with the 7 series' twin turbo V12

 

[kikie]

When I saw that first photo, my first thought was, "hey, it's a Smart car".

 

[V12orchestra]

My reaction about this car. Can i have 10 Cygnus V8? I would probably crash one of them driving it at the limit.

 

[JensC]

I would love to see this in Gran Turismo Sport.

 

[Castrol96]

I like it!

Reminds me of something out of the early Burnout series.

 

[Robin]

There's often a couple of Cygnets in the Aston dealership in Wilmslow near me, they're expensive little blighters.

Roughly how much are they asking these days for them?

 

[Dave A]

Roughly how much are they asking these days for them?

The're usually around £30k up, but I have seen "cheaper" ones for around £28k. The last one I saw in Wilmslow was around £32k IIRC.

 

[kikie]

Very interesting:

I don't know who the source is, but I can catagorically state that it would be impossible to fit the AM V12 engine into the engine bay of the Cygnet without extensive modifications.

The V8, however, would fit, longitudinally, with a shortened torque tube and prop, ideally connected to the Graziano manual 6-speed box. In order to minimise modifications to the floorpan in the front footwells, you have to push the engine forward such that you would have no space for a radiator in the conventional place, in front of the accessory drive belts. The radiator could be placed above the engine, but it is a tricky ask - the most effective cooling is always direct air. Ducting is always a lossy exercise.

This means you could retain all the existing suspension hardware at the front. At the rear, you would require a customised version of hte AML rear subframe, narrowed to make the car look more or less stock, and whatever wishbone/hub assembly you'd like to run. Handling of such a car, with McPherson strut front on lightweight hubs - probably not good. Nor wise, from an engineering point of view. You could build and weld in double wishbone mounts and put AML front suspension on, but you'd have to cut into the inner wings quite a bit - there's a lot of fabrication there.

However, if you don't care about the floorpan and you cut it to bits, fitting the entire V8 drivetrain in a more conventional way (say, into a tube chassis) is relatively straightforward, and if you can't be bothered to narrow the rear, then you could make some massive rear arches and retain the Vantage track. This would be a quick and dirty way of making an AML powered Cygnet - although it would look like a right monster, it would handle like an extremely short wheelbase Vantage. Kinda twitchy.

Would anyone build this car? Oooh, I couldn't say.