Cars

Aston Martin V8 Cygnet is one ridiculous city car

A Toyota iQ with 430 horsepower? Sure!

Andrew Krok

Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.

See full bio

Andrew Krok

July 12, 2018 8:42 a.m. PT

1 of 12 Aston Martin

Aston Martin debuted the one-off V8 Cygnet at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

2 of 12 Aston Martin

Billed as the "ultimate city car," which it definitely is, the V8 Cygnet borrows its 430-horsepower, 4.7-liter V8 from the Vantage S.

3 of 12 Aston Martin

It can actually out-accelerate the Vantage S, reaching 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.

4 of 12 Aston Martin

Its 170-mph top speed is 60 mph higher than the standard Cygnet.

5 of 12 Aston Martin

The automaker had to fabricate a new firewall and transmission tunnel from scratch.

6 of 12 Aston Martin

The body is largely unmodified, save for massive wheel arches to accommodate tires that will actually maintain traction.

7 of 12 Aston Martin

A tiny little torque tube transfers power to the rear wheels.

8 of 12 Aston Martin

Will you ever be able to buy one? No.

9 of 12 Aston Martin

The interior sports an FIA-compliant fire suppression system, and a Recaro racing seat in front of a removable Alcantara suede-wrapped steering wheel and a unique dashboard with the Vantage's instrument cluster.