Tiny city car? That'll be an Aston Martin!

Jun 29 2009 Steve Hughes

ASTON Martin is planning to go from one extreme to another - with the introduction of a tiny city car.

The luxury sports car maker has joined forces with Japanese giant Toyota to produce the world's smallest four-seater luxury car.

To be known as the Aston Martin Cygnet, the miniscule newcomer should be on sale before the end of next year.

Based on the Toyota iQ, it is likely to continue to use the current petrol engines of 1.0 and 1.33 litres rather than the 5.9-litre V12 of the 190mph Volante.

This will mean an environmentally-friendly CO2 figure of under 100g/km in comparison to the 390g/km figure of the DBS.

Aston Martin says that the collaboration is now well under way and that it is working to finish the luxuriously-appointed interior.

Aston boss Ulrich Bez, says: ``Now is the right time for Aston Martin to take this first bold step to embark on this special project. This concept - akin to an exclusive tender to a luxury yacht - will allow us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market.''

The company intends to produce as many as 2,000 Cygnets a year, aimed at wealthy commuters prepared to pay as much as £20,000 to be seen driving an environmentally-friendly car that is also easy to park in congested cities.