Bond's little runabout

Bond's little runabout - It would be the perfect choice of transport for agent 003-and-a-half. This cut-price Aston Martin, which was unveiled yesterday, has been designed to be within reach of ordinary motorists – or perhaps a budding James Bond on a budget.

The limited edition Cygnet will sell for £39,995, but future ‘standard’ models will cost £30,995.

But it has not impressed everyone.The Cygnet is a collaboration with Toyota and is based on the Japanese car giant’s green iQ super-mini. But the most expensive iQ costs only £12,065.

Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief of What Car? magazine, said: ‘[The Cygnet] is not a proper Aston Martin. There’s no Aston Martin engineering in it. It hasn’t got an Aston Martin engine under the bonnet or an Aston Martin-designed chassis. It uses Toyota running gear and a Toyota engine.

‘Yet for the price of one Cygnet you could buy two Toyota iQs and a decent set of Louis Vuitton luggage. You could buy three iQs if you go for the more expensive special edition launch car.’

Other critics have complained that the car ‘dilutes the Aston Martin brand’ and will damage its exclusive image. The Cygnet is a snip compared with the £173,000 cost of an Aston Martin DBS, as featured in the 007 movie Quantum of Solace.

While it doesn’t look much like a traditional Aston Martin, it carries the trademark grille and badge. There will be 50 black and 50 white cars in the luxury British carmaker’s initial limited-edition run.

The standard and special editions are the same mechanically and in performance, differing only in price and quality of the interior trim. Following the unveiling yesterday of the launch edition, production at Aston Martin’s Gaydon factory in Warwickshire begins in April.

The standard edition is expected to be available from next year. Existing Aston owners will get to jump the queue to order one.

An Aston Martin spokesman said: ‘Despite its compact but neatly-proportioned form, Cygnet is clearly recognisable as an Aston Martin. It demonstrates Aston Martin’s ongoing commitment to British manufacturing.’