Following the teaser image sent out in June, Aston Martin has today released the first official images of the Cygnet - a new luxury commuter concept car based on the diminutive Toyota iQ.
According to the luxury carmaker - who intends to offer the Cygnet as a 'tender' along with the purchase of one of Aston's 'real' cars - the Cygnet concept "represents a creative, environmentally conscious solution" to current issues attributed chiefly to motor cars.
The Cygnet is small, befitting a vehicle based on the iQ, yet it features some design elements in tune with the Aston Martin brand, such as the characteristic grille and hood and fender vents, and the flush-mounted door handles. This is especially true in the interior, which includes a host of luxury upgrades but has a very sporty underlying theme.
Work on the concept is ongoing and will continue into 2010 when it will, in all certainty, become production reality.
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New Car: Aston Martin Cygnet preview
BMW's Mini division has revealed the Beachcomber concept, which is set to make its public debut at the NAIAS in Detroit early next year.
Inspired by the Mini Moke from the 1960s, the four-seat Beachcomber concept features a removable hard and soft top and removable doors. Measuring less than four meters long, it is said to preview the forthcoming Mini SUV due in 2010.
We'll bring you more details on the Beachcomber when we see the car in the flesh at the NAIAS. Until then, check out more photos and sketches of the new concept in the photo gallery below.
Photo Gallery: Mini Beachcomber concept
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Audi has begun drip feeding information on the forthcoming A1, which is set to make its official debut at the 2010 Geneva motor show in March. The "next big Audi" as it is being heralded, will fill the void just below the A3 in the automaker's lineup, a category currently occupied by the Mini from German rival BMW.
According to Stephan Sielaff, Audi AG's head of design,"Audi likes its show cars to be interpreted as clear as possible," and that's just what the A1 appears to be. Judging by photos made available on the automaker's promotional microsite, the A1 bears a strong resemblance to the A1 Sportback concept and the Metroproject prototype, which made its first appearance at the 2007 Tokyo motor show. Watch the mock design review between Sielaff and chief designer Dany Garand in the video to the left for more details.
The goal of the A1 was clear from the beginning, says Chairman Rupert Stadler, "to condense all of Audi's virtues into a car that is less than 4m long". He agrees that the goal is bold for such a diminutive vehicle, but asserts that Audi is "opening another door into the world of premium cars" with the A1.
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Audi Metroproject Quattro - Tokyo 2007
Ferrari has unveiled its latest one-off, the P540 Superfast Aperta. Designed by Pininfarina for an American client, the new car is based on the 599 GTB Fiorano. It is the second new car created by the Italian sports car maker's new 'Special Projects' program.
Inspired by a Carrozzeria Fantuzzi-designed Ferrari built specifically for the 1968 Fellini film, Toby Dammit (itself inspired by one of the tales of Edgar Allan Poe), the car's owner, Edward Walson (son of John Walson, the inventor of cable TV) approached Ferrari in 2008 to produce a modern reinterpretation of the gold-colored car in the film.
Walson, who was involved in each stage of the car's development in Maranello, witnessed the considerable effort that went into strengthening the P540's chassis in order to transform it into an open car. The increase in weight was kept down to just 20kg by employing carbon-fiber extensively.
The development of Ferrari's latest creation went from Pinifarina's initial sketches to the final, road-legal car in just 14 months.
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