Aston Martin's Cygnet, The Luxed Up Toyota IQ

In my opinion, Aston Martin makes some of the world's sexiest luxury sports cars; The DBS Volante, The DB9, the V12 Vantage and The Rapide. And especially their new Carbon Black special editions. Long, sleek, aerodynamic, elegant cars whose profiles' make one drool with desire. Aesthetically graceful enough for women, strong enough looking for men.


clockwise from upper left: the V12 Vantage, The DBS Volante, The DB9 and the Rapide.

So, when I first caught a glimpse of the Cygnet, I was disappointed. It's built on the Toyota iQ (called the Scion IQ in the US) platform. A little quirky european looking commuter car.



It's true, I have a personal bias against cars that look like the need a wind-up key to run. The Mini, the Smart car, the Toyota iQ and even that old Le Car remind me of Barnum and Bailey clown cars. That said, the reason I'm blogging about the Cygnet is the interesting business strategy behind it.

First off, if you didn't know, to purchase one of the Aston Martin Cygnets, you must already own a full-sized Aston Martin. Since many of their customers (Aston Martin says approximately 30%) already own a mini car like a Toyota iQ, they are serving their client’s needs while lowering the fleet’s CO2 emissions. Thus, without damaging their brand, they've basically designed a $45,000+* accessory for their customers who own $285,000 cars.
*The actual MSRP price has not been released.



“Many of our customers have a need for a small car for urban and city use,” says Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez, “The Cygnet Concept brings intelligence, innovation and artistry to the small car market. The Cygnet Concept represents the natural choice for those customers looking for a premium commuter car.”



“Our past, our future and our backbone will always remain sports cars, but the Cygnet Concept will support this by offering our customers a greater degree of freedom in the urban context.”



The Aston Martin Cygnet Concept is a bold step towards a new form of transportation; the luxury commuter car, a form of personal transportation that sees the company's core values engage with a new environment.



The Aston Martin Cygnet Concept is the result of a unique and intelligent collaboration, the coming together of two companies that are leaders in their respective fields. The project has required a close intellectual and engineering partnership, resulting in an inventive solution that unites volume and niche automotive engineering.





The Aston Martin Cygnet Concept is small. At just under three metres long (that's 9.8 feet), the car is a highly refined piece of packaging, designed to make fast progress within dense European cityscapes. With four seats and a highly intelligent interior, the car can be configured in a number of different ways, allowing for a 2+2 seating system, a 2+1 seating system or a 2-seater with large luggage area.



The Aston Martin Cygnet Concept has a 1.3 litre 4-cylinder engine, offering CO2 emissions of 110g/km and combined fuel economy figures of 58.9 mpg, with a power output of 98bhp. The Aston Martin Cygnet Concept has a six-speed manual gearbox, with the MultidriveTM CVT system available as an option. The Aston Martin Cygnet Concept comes with an acclaimed technology package as standard, including a satellite navigation system, iPod integration and a powerful six-speaker radio/CD player.



The Cygnet Concept enhances the marque, pointing to a future of ongoing innovation, design and technology; allowing Aston Martin customers a greater degree of freedom without compromising the levels of design, quality and innovation that embody the brand.



An Aston Martin delivers the pleasure and exhilaration of driving combined with an appreciation of craftsmanship, design and technology. But Aston Martin is also about innovation, forging new links and associations; and bringing the brand's qualities to new sectors of the market.



The Cygnet Concept is a demonstration of Aston Martin's unrivalled skill at creating hand-crafted interiors. The rich blend of hand-stitched leather, Alcantara and aluminium is shared with Aston Martin's sports cars. The company's extensive experience of traditional processes and richly detailed craftsmanship gives each Aston Martin a unique feel, bringing together detailed design work, high technology and exquisitely tactile materials.



As a luxury commuter car that can slip easily and unobtrusively into the city, the Cygnet Concept is a highly intelligent solution to urban mobility. Using tried and tested technology, together with Aston Martin's acclaimed levels of personalisation and customisation, material quality, craft skill and tactile delight, the Cygnet Concept is innovative and forward-thinking, a genuine solution for future mobility and a natural partner for Aston Martin's line-up of acclaimed luxury sports cars.



You can register your interest in the Cygnet to receive the latest news and info here

official images and information of the Aston Martin Cygnet courtesy of Aston Martin and Top Speed.

I told you I love Aston Martin cars, so be sure to check out the world's most expensive and exclusive Aston Martin One-77 here.

Some Toy! Audi's Auto Union Type C Limited Edition Pedal Car

Pedal Car? You mean this is a 'toy'? Damn, there will be some very lucky kids out there.

This strictly limited, (999 units) hand-made edition brings back a racing legend created in a series of ten superb victories in mountain and circuit races in 1936. You'll be captivated by the model's exclusive design, exquisite craftsmanship, select materials and unparalleled attention to detail. Built at a scale of 1:2, this model is already a much sought-after collector's item.




Over 900 individual pieces were exclusively manufactured and assembled to produce this highly unusual collector's car with a chain drive. A robust aluminium tubular frame acts as the cornerstone of this eye-catching design model. The car's body - which is made of aluminium sheets - was exclusively manufactured at the Audi toolmaking division.


above: the original inspiration

The designers of this 1:2 scale model of the Auto Union Type C, of which a limited edition of 999 units are available, thought of everything to ensure maximum driving pleasure for the car's young pilots (up to 135 cm tall, or 53.1" tall) - 7-speed transmission with a back-pedal brake, hand brake lever with a locking function and hydraulic double disc brakes.



Other highlights in this intricately designed pedal car include the detachable oak wood dashboard and a leather covered steering wheel with a quick-release system for getting in and out in a flash.



Dimensions: 2020 x 968 x 624 mm
Part number: 1200700100
Price: £10,000.00 (That's about $15,618.00 USD)

To order: please contact your local Audi dealer. The Type C pedal car usually is delivered within 4 weeks of order.

Jeff Koons To Design the 17th Art BMW (And A Really Good Look At The Other 16)

above: Jeff Koons' concept art for the car

The New York Times announced yesterday that the next BMW art car, a long standing tradition, will be done by contemporary artist Jeff Koons.



Koon’s relationship with BMW started more than two decades ago when he first drove a BMW whilst living in Munich, home to the BMW Group headquarters. It was in 2003 that Koons first expressed his desire to create a BMW Art Car.

Frank-Peter Arndt, member of the Board of Management for the BMW AG and responsible for BMW Group’s international cultural formats, said: “We are enormously pleased about Jeff Koons’ eagerly anticipated contribution to the BMW Art Car series, celebrating its 35th anniversary. Art Cars are part of the DNA of BMW’s cultural engagement. As manifested in Koons’ latest sculptural work, what unites us is the belief that nothing is impossible. Our company and Jeff Koons are drawn to permanent innovation and cutting-edge technology.”


above: Jeff Koons (right)with celebrated architect Richard Meier (left) at the party celebrating the announcement that Jeff Koons will create the 17th BMW Art Car at Koons‘ Manhattan studio, Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

It's fairly well known that BMW has commissioned 16 Art Cars over the last four decades. The cars have toured museums around the world, including the Louvre in Paris, the Royal Academy in London, the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and at the Guggenheim museums in New York and Bilbao.



Four of them, by the artists Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella and Robert Rauschenberg, appeared at Grand Central Terminal in New York for two weeks in March of 2009. Those pieces (shown below) are part of a collection of 16 cars, from a 635CSi to an M1, that BMW has turned over to artists to re-imagine since 1975.



Andy Warhol, BMW M1 Group 4 Race Version, 1979:




Roy Lichtenstein, BMW 320i Group 5 Race Version, 1977:




Frank Stella, BMW 3.0 CSL, 1976:





Robert Rauschenberg, BMW 635 CSi, 1986:





Here are the other 12.

Alexander Calder, 3.0CSL, 1975. One of Calder’s last works, his BMW Art Car competed in the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans:



Ernest Fuchs, 635CSi, 1982. He said his piece “represents a hare racing across a motorway at night and leaping over a burning car.”:



Ken Done, M3 Group A racing model, 1989. Along with Michael Jagamara Nelson, Mr. Done was one of two Australian artists commissioned by BMW in 1989. He painted parrots and parrot fish on his car:



Michael Jagamara Nelson, M3 Group A racing model, 1989. Using a style derived from traditional Aboriginal painting, Mr. Nelson’s work portrays a landscape as seen from the sky:



Matazo Kayama, 535i, 1990. Mr. Kayama used Japanese techniques of foil impression and metal cutting over an airbrushed surface:


Cesar Manrique, 730i, 1990. The Spanish artist and architect said he wanted his car “to appear as if it were gliding through space without encountering any form of resistance.”:



Esther Mahlangu, 525i, 1991. She painted her car in the traditional form of the Ndebele tribe of South Africa:



A. R. Penck, Z1, 1991. The German artist covered his car with pictographic images and symbols in a design that evokes primitive cave paintings:



Sandro Chia, M3 GTR, 1992. “Look at anything hard enough and it turns into a face,” said this Italian painter and sculptor of his Art Car. “And a face is a focal point of life and of the world.”:




David Hockney, 850CSi, 1995. His design offers an “inside” view of the car, including renderings of the intake manifolds painted on the hood:



Jenny Holzer, V12 LMR, 1999. Her Le Mans Roadster includes aphorisms like “The Unattainable Is Invariably Attractive.”:





Photographs © BMW AG

Left: David Hockney painting Art Car 1995, BMW 850 CSi
Right: Jenny Holzer signing Art Car 1999, BMW V12 LMR

The final and 16th art car of the series thus far; Olafur Eliasson, H2R, 2007. He turned BMW’s hydrogen-powered race car into an Art Car on ice (this one has to be kept in a refrigerated room, for obvious reasons):

The Process - Installation view Studio Olafur Eliasson, Commissioned by BMW Group:






© Olafur Eliasson and BMW Group
special thanks to BMW, Dezeen and Car Body Design and The Curated Object for additional images. and to the Los Angeles Times and Robert Peele for additional info.

Miniature replicas of all of these cars (except for the Olafur Eliasson one) are available for purchase here.