Aston Martin's Launch Edition Cygnets (2011)

Production of the Aston Martin Cygnet begins in just a few months' time, and the sports car company has announced two special editions to celebrate the launch of its new city car.

According to Aston Martin, the Cygnet Launch Edition White and Cygnet Launch Edition Black are being built to ‘exemplify the highly bespoke nature of this unique car.’ Are we alone in spotting the irony of building a run of identical vehicles to highlight the customisable nature of the Cygnet?

The Cygnet Launch Edition White is supposed to be about serenity, with Snow White paint, white diamond-turned alloy wheels, and white Aston badges on the outside, and white leather on the inside.

The Cygnet Launch Edition Black is the opposite: black paint, matt black louvres, black wing badges, while dark chrome and black leather adorn the interior.

Yes, literal as well as metaphorical. Both cars also come with a five-piece set of bespoke Bill Amberg luggage, comprising a glovebox bag, removable door pocket bag, holdall, garment bag and a collapsible tote bag.

The rest of the Aston Cygnet is how we already know it. So you get bespoke lights, grille and bodywork disguising the Toyota iQ interior, and leather, Alcantara, unique dials and a new sat-nav system marking out the dash.

There’s a signature Aston sill bearing the ‘Handcrafted in England’ motif, but that's perhaps stretching things as the majority of the Cygnet has been put together by robots in Japan.

Power comes from a 1.3-litre engine, mated to a CVT or manual ‘box.

Production of the Aston Martin Cygnet commences in April 2011 with prices starting around the £30k mark, and rising to £45k.

By Ben Pulman