The shock announcement
On 29th June 2009 Aston Martin released a single image of a full size clay model. It showed a small city car with a distinctive, but large, grill, and a full width front spoiler. In the accompanying release it was disclosed that it was based on the Toyota iQ, and that although it would retain the iQ’s engine and running gear it would feature Aston’s own bespoke interior.
The shock announcement
On 29th June 2009 Aston Martin released a single image of a full size clay model. It showed a small city car with a distinctive, but large, grill, and a full width front spoiler. In the accompanying release it was disclosed that it was based on the Toyota iQ, and that although it would retain the iQ’s engine and running gear it would feature Aston’s own bespoke interior.
The shock announcement
On 29th June 2009 Aston Martin released a single image of a full size clay model. It showed a small city car with a distinctive, but large, grill, and a full width front spoiler. In the accompanying release it was disclosed that it was based on the Toyota iQ, and that although it would retain the iQ’s engine and running gear it would feature Aston’s own bespoke interior.
The shock announcement
On 29th June 2009 Aston Martin released a single image of a full size clay model. It showed a small city car with a distinctive, but large, grill, and a full width front spoiler. In the accompanying release it was disclosed that it was based on the Toyota iQ, and that although it would retain the iQ’s engine and running gear it would feature Aston’s own bespoke interior.
The motoring press loved the V8 Cygnet
Why choose the iQ as a bais?
In spite of its small dimensions, the Cygnet benefits from some of Toyota's unique ideas for the iQ on how to design and engineer small cars. Success in creating a vehicle that is less than three metres long, yet has space for four seats on board was made possible thanks to a series of six interlinked technical and packaging innovations: six degrees of innovation.
#1 - The front-mounted differential
For front wheel drive cars the position of the gearbox differential defines the position of a car's driven wheels and is often a limiting factor on how space under the bonnet can be used. Toyota moved the differential in front of the engine, which brings three key advantages:
1. The space under the bonnet can be made more compact.
2. The front wheels can be positioned at the far corners of the car, with almost no front overhang.
3. The length of the cabin can be extended, without increasing the car's overall size.
#2 - Centre take-off steering rack
On conventional rack and pinion steering systems the tie rods are connected to each end of the steering rack, and positioned close to the centerline of the front wheels. Using a centre take-off steering gear for the Electric Power Steering (EPS) they are connected to the centre of the rack, which allows the rack to be position above rather than below the engine and further back towards the bulkhead, reducing the car's front overhang.
#3 - Flat under-floor fuel tank
The usual place for a car's fuel tank is beneath the rear seats, but the creation of a flat fuel tank, just 120mm tall, positioned beneath the vehicle floor, which not only frees up more cabin space but also gives a lower centre of gravity,
#4 - Space-saving air conditioning unit
Reducing the air conditoning unit's dimensions by 20%, rerouting the internal passages, a more compact filter, and a smaller blower fan resulted in the passenger side of the dashboard being slimmer than that in front of the driver.
#5 - Asymmetrical dashboard
Thanks to the much smaller air conditioning unit the dashboard could be reshaped amking it asymmetrical in shape, and as such is positioned further away from the passenger seat, towards the centre of the windscreen. The result is an extra 130 mm of legroom for the front passanger meaning that there is enough legroom for an adult behind.
#6 - Ultra-slim seat design
The seats are built on an all-new frame, with full adjustment of their separate parts to ensure that space is not gained at the cost of comfort. Their design also yields a weight-saving benefit of 1kg per seat.