Aston Martin will arrive at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed with not one, but two all-new cars set to take on the famous hillclimb.
Produced at the behest of one of Aston’s customers, the V8 Cygnet struggles to hide its new powertrain – a 4.7-litre, 430bhp V8 lifted from the previous-generation Vantage S.
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The new engine is a full 3.4-litres larger than the four-cylinder unit equipped under the bonnet of the original Cygnet. Produced from 2011 to 2013, the Toyota iQ based city car was used by Aston to comply with European Union fleet emissions regulations, and produced just 97bhp.
With 333bhp extra on board, Aston Martin claims that the V8 Cygnet is capable of 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds – faster than the outgoing V8 Vantage S. Top speed has been clocked at 170mph.
Adding a V8, a seven-speed automated manual gearbox and associated beefy ancillaries to a Cygnet has had an effect on the weight, despite the stripped-out cabin. Aston says the finished project weighs 1,375kg with fluids, compared to the base car’s 920kg.
Not so much a pocket rocket as a microscopic missile, the V8 Cygnet will be bringing its own brand of miniscule fury to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend.
