If there’s a single model that sticks out like a sore thumb from Aston Martin’s 112-year history, it is undoubtedly the Cygnet. Based on a Toyota IQ and given an Aston-flavoured makeover to justify a retail price that doubled that of the Japanese city car, many questioned whether the Cygnet was worthy of the Aston Martin Wings, especially when it was packing a wimpy 100 horsepower, 1.3-litre engine.
It seems the Cygnet’s haters began getting to Aston Martin, because in 2018 the tasked their Q bespoke department with creating a Cygnet with enough brawn to silence critics the world over. Thus the one-off V8 powered Super Cygnet was born, and we don’t think anyone has fully recovered since. Boasting four times the power output of the standard car, the Super Cygnet’s significant shove came courtesy of a front-mounted 430 horsepower 4.7-litre naturally aspirated V8 borrowed from the Vantage S, marking what is possibly the craziest engine swap of all time.
In order to accommodate such a disproportionate heart transplant, the Cygnet was given massive wheel arches that increased its width by 240 mm, while the body was comprehensively re-engineered and substantially strengthened, incorporating a safety roll cage for extra strength and peace of mind. Weighing in at just 1375kg including fluids, the Super Cygnet boasts a mighty power-to-weight ratio of 313 bhp/tonne and can reportedly hit 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds before scampering off to its quoted top speed of 170 mph.
Now offered to the public for the very first time by Nicholas Mee, the unique and globally-adored Super Cygnet is a testament to what can be done when automakers let their engineers run wild. The real question is: would you floor it in a 400-plus horsepower one-off with the footprint of a slice of toast? We’re not sure we would have the guts!
