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The V8 Cygnet feels much less compromised than it should be after such a radical organ transplant. Its cabin has lost the two-plus-one seating layout that the regular Cygnet shared with the iQ, and instead there is a pair of Recaro race buckets mounted within the protection of a structure-strengthening roll cage. The relocated firewall creates an offset driving position, with the pedals set at what soon proves to be an ankle-cricking angle. But everything else is smart and well finished, with a carbon-fiber dashboard, Vantage instruments, and the sports car's gear-selection buttons in place of the cheap Toyota shifter in the regular Cygnet. There's even a fly-off emergency brake positioned between the front seats.
The engine is fired to life using Aston's trademark glass key fob—something else the regular Cygnet didn't get—and from the get-go, enough noise enters the cabin to explain the lack of any other audio system. It's hot as well, staying sticky in the modest heat of an English summer's day despite the best efforts of the air-conditioning system. The ride is firm, and the short wheelbase means that, over certain frequencies of rough surfaces, it takes on the choppy heave of a small boat in heavy seas.
But none of that matters. To drive this car is to realize that it can hurt to grin too much. Aston claims that, being around 550 pounds lighter than the Vantage S, the V8 Cygnet can actually outaccelerate that coupe. We didn't confirm the claimed 4.2-second zero-to-60-mph time, and certainly never got close to Aston's terrifying assertion of a 170-mph top speed, but those numbers do feel believable from the driver's seat, the sensation of speed enhanced by the bellowing soundtrack and the nose-up attitude the car adopts under full throttle.
The Cygnet's dynamic cues share much with the Vantage S. The steering possesses similar weighting and the talkative feel of the donor car, with the throttle delivering the same proportional responses. The automated manual transmission has lost some refinement—not a quality it ever possessed in abundance—with hesitancy between gears and a tendency to get confused if multiple instructions from the shift paddles come too close together. But we quickly gained the knack of timing shifts carefully and lifting the throttle to smooth upshifts.
With the combination of its short wheelbase and a lack of stability control (apparently at the new owner's request), the V8 Cygnet needs to be treated with a healthy degree of respect. Combining throttle application with any significant degree of steering input creates the unmistakable sensation of the rear end running short of grip, not a dynamic trait we wanted to explore in greater depth on public roads in an irreplaceable one-off. But the biggest driving challenge is the more prosaic one of getting used to the difference between the car's apparent width when sitting in the narrow cabin and how much wider it actually is.
As part of the deal to make the V8 Cygnet, Aston promised its new owner that it would never make another. But if there is anyone out there with an equally bonkers ambition for an Aston product and sufficient funds to make it a reality, they are invited to get in touch with the Q division to discuss it. A V12 Cygnet, perhaps?
This jewel is brought to you by Johnathan Stadler.
Fix Glass
Add news LODs
The V8 Cygnet feels much less compromised than it should be after such a radical organ transplant. Its cabin has lost the two-plus-one seating layout that the regular Cygnet shared with the iQ, and instead there is a pair of Recaro race buckets mounted within the protection of a structure-strengthening roll cage. The relocated firewall creates an offset driving position, with the pedals set at what soon proves to be an ankle-cricking angle. But everything else is smart and well finished, with a carbon-fiber dashboard, Vantage instruments, and the sports car's gear-selection buttons in place of the cheap Toyota shifter in the regular Cygnet. There's even a fly-off emergency brake positioned between the front seats.
The engine is fired to life using Aston's trademark glass key fob—something else the regular Cygnet didn't get—and from the get-go, enough noise enters the cabin to explain the lack of any other audio system. It's hot as well, staying sticky in the modest heat of an English summer's day despite the best efforts of the air-conditioning system. The ride is firm, and the short wheelbase means that, over certain frequencies of rough surfaces, it takes on the choppy heave of a small boat in heavy seas.
But none of that matters. To drive this car is to realize that it can hurt to grin too much. Aston claims that, being around 550 pounds lighter than the Vantage S, the V8 Cygnet can actually outaccelerate that coupe. We didn't confirm the claimed 4.2-second zero-to-60-mph time, and certainly never got close to Aston's terrifying assertion of a 170-mph top speed, but those numbers do feel believable from the driver's seat, the sensation of speed enhanced by the bellowing soundtrack and the nose-up attitude the car adopts under full throttle.
The Cygnet's dynamic cues share much with the Vantage S. The steering possesses similar weighting and the talkative feel of the donor car, with the throttle delivering the same proportional responses. The automated manual transmission has lost some refinement—not a quality it ever possessed in abundance—with hesitancy between gears and a tendency to get confused if multiple instructions from the shift paddles come too close together. But we quickly gained the knack of timing shifts carefully and lifting the throttle to smooth upshifts.
With the combination of its short wheelbase and a lack of stability control (apparently at the new owner's request), the V8 Cygnet needs to be treated with a healthy degree of respect. Combining throttle application with any significant degree of steering input creates the unmistakable sensation of the rear end running short of grip, not a dynamic trait we wanted to explore in greater depth on public roads in an irreplaceable one-off. But the biggest driving challenge is the more prosaic one of getting used to the difference between the car's apparent width when sitting in the narrow cabin and how much wider it actually is.
As part of the deal to make the V8 Cygnet, Aston promised its new owner that it would never make another. But if there is anyone out there with an equally bonkers ambition for an Aston product and sufficient funds to make it a reality, they are invited to get in touch with the Q division to discuss it. A V12 Cygnet, perhaps?
This jewel is brought to you by Johnathan Stadler.
