Aston Martin builds V8 Cygnet 'ultimate city car'

A customer with deep pockets and a twisted sense of humor pursued the project via the \'Q by Aston Martin\' service.

Aston Martin has brought a surprising one-off project to Goodwood, reviving the Cygnet for one last hurrah with a V8 under the hood.

Engineers started with the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet city car, an emissions compliance anomaly that brings just 97 horsepower in its stock front-wheel-drive form.

Reimagining the Cygnet as the "ultimate city car" required extensive modification to accommodate the V8 Vantage S's 4.7-liter V8. The naturally aspirated mill is mounted to a custom bulkhead and transmission tunnel, while the subframe and suspension components carry over from the previous-generation Vantage.

With 430 horsepower and 361 pound-feet of torque, the V8 Cygnet boasts an incredible power-to-weight ratio and launches to 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds -- quicker than the V8 Vantage S. A brave pilot can expect to hit 170 mph if they don't lift off the accelerator.

A customer pursued the Smart Fortwo-destroyer via the 'Q by Aston Martin' service, presumably with deep pockets and a twisted sense of humor.