Aston Martin V8 Cygnet Concept
One of the most exciting, outrageous and diminutive creations ever to wear the famous Aston Martin wings made its world debut at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Dubbed the 'The Ultimate City Car', a one-off Aston Martin Cygnet has been built with a 4.7-litre, 430bhp V8 engine from the Vantage S and a very short torque tube.
The Aston Martin V8 Cygnet has been brought to life for a single customer through the 'Q by Aston Martin - Commission' service. This section of the British marque's bespoke personalisation service allows the ultimate in freedom of expression when designing an Aston Martin and the V8 Cygnet continues to push these boundaries.
Aston Martin Vice President & Special Operations Officer, David King said: "The V8 Cygnet shows the fun side of both Aston Martin and its customers. It is also a fine example of the engineering talent within the company as it's no small achievement to fit the Vantage's V8 engine so harmoniously into the Cygnet's compact body. I am sure that it will amaze and thrill people when they see and hear it on the hill at the Festival of Speed."
Developed in-house by Aston Martin's engineers, the starting point for the project was a right-hand drive Cygnet steel body shell and panels. A roll cage was welded to this, becoming an integral part of the chassis in the process, while a new front bulkhead and transmission tunnel were fabricated from sheet metal to accommodate the characterful 4.7-litre naturally aspirated V8 Vantage S powertrain. Subframes and suspension are also derived from the previous generation Vantage and a steel fuel tank housing has been mounted in the boot area, utilizing every inch of space.
Despite all this work, the car remains very recognisably a Cygnet from the outside. The face of the little Aston Martin remains largely untouched, with no extra bulges in the bonnet and just a subtle black mesh for the famous grille. However, there is no disguising the extra width of the wheel arches. In order to accommodate the significantly wider front and rear tracks, beautiful carbon composite flared extensions were made. These also house the new forged, five-spoke, diamond-turned wheels, which have grown from 16" to 19" in diameter.
At the rear of the car the distinguishing new feature of the Aston Martin V8 Cygnet is the central twin exhaust pipes. The exhaust is a bespoke system with twin underfloor mufflers and catalytic converters. With relatively short distances involved from manifold to tail pipe the V8 Cygnet has a voice that belies its compact size.
The engine itself is the 4.7-litre, naturally-aspirated V8 that is more usually found beneath the bonnet of the previous-generation Vantage S. Bespoke intake trunking had to be designed and there are twin conical air filters. There is no sense in which the engine has been neutered for the Cygnet, however, with power and torque figures remaining at 430bhp and 490NM (361lb ft) respectively.
