Stirling Moss adds an Aston Martin Cygnet to his wife's garage

For those of you who thought the tiny Aston Martin Cygnet--a reworked Toyota iQ city car--was blasphemous for the company, Sir Stirling Moss disagrees. He surprised his wife with one at the Royal Automobile Club in London on Monday.

The Mosses had planned a private dinner on the eve of Lady Moss's birthday at the century-old club. When they arrived, a new Cygnet--painted Aston Martin racing green--was on display in the central rotunda. It was the culmination of six months of planning, including secret phone calls and meetings between Moss and Aston Martin.

“Since seeing a preproduction Cygnet in January, I knew it was the perfect car for Susie,” said Moss, “a proper little piece of British luxury and perfect for our life in town.”

The color of Lady Moss's car is a nod to Stirling Moss's racing days in the 1950s. The interior is obsidian black.

The Cygnet was supplied through HWM Aston Martin, which holds a long-standing relationship with the club. It's the oldest of the company's 134 global dealerships. It was started 60 years ago by former Aston Martin driver George Abecassis, who actually gave Moss his first Grand Prix drives in HWM-built cars.

Full Aston Martin press release below:

SIR STIRLING MOSS BECOMES ONE OF FIRST ASTON MARTIN CYGNET CUSTOMERS

12 July 2011 Gaydon: At the prestigious Royal Automobile Club last night, international motorsport legend, Sir Stirling Moss took delivery of his newly purchased Aston Martin Cygnet; a surprise birthday present for wife, Lady Moss.

One of the closest teams in motorsport for many years, Sir Stirling and Lady Moss planned a private celebratory dinner on the eve of her birthday at the Royal Automobile Club in its clubhouse the century old, 'palace on Pall Mall' in London. On arrival they were met with the sight of the new Aston Martin Cygnet on display in the magnificent central rotunda – the culmination of six months planning and 'secret' correspondence between Sir Stirling and Aston Martin to plan a surprise birthday present for Lady Moss.

Sir Stirling Moss said: "My greatest partner in everything that I do, Susie is an amazing person and frankly the best wife a man could have. Since seeing a pre-production Cygnet in January I knew that it was the perfect car for Susie; a proper little piece of British luxury and perfect for our life in town."

Hand-crafted at Aston Martin's headquarters in Gaydon, taking 150 hours to complete, the Aston Martin Cygnet shares much in terms of design and craftsmanship with the company's sports cars. Elegant and distinctive, individual and practical, the Aston Martin Cygnet is the ultimate Tailor-Fit solution for city living. Launched in May 2011 with first customer orders arriving at European dealers now, Cygnet is hand-crafted for the city and like every Aston Martin it can be uniquely personalised to suit individual taste and style, bringing a new level of luxury and bespoke capability to city cars.

Specifications for Lady Moss's car include Sir Stirling's choice of Aston Martin Racing Green, harking back to the company's sports cars that Sir Stirling raced in the 1950s, as the paint colour. This iconic exterior has been complemented by a simple and elegant interior hand crafted in Obsidian Black leather with a contrasting coarse silver stitch, forming a typically understated combination.

Adding to the occasion and its ongoing theme of long standing relationships with the marque, the Cygnet has been supplied through HWM Aston Martin, based in Walton-on- Thames, who were appointed as an official Aston Martin dealer in 1951. The longest serving of the company's global network of 134 dealers, HWM Aston Martin was started 60 years ago by fellow Aston Martin Works Driver George Abecassis who actually gave Sir Stirling his first Grand Prix drives in 1951/52 in HWM-built cars.

Sir Stirling's own driving career with Aston Martin saw him drive a number of the company's racing cars including the famous DB3S and DBR1 models with great success. This culminated in being part of the factory team that in 1959 secured the company the World Sportscar Championship following victories in the DBR1 at such prestigious races as the Le Mans 24-hour.

By Jake Lingeman