Rumormill: Aston Martin Cygnet could get V12

A few years ago, if you would have asked us about 500-hp city cars, we would have said, “Awesome, but never going to happen.” We were proven wrong with last year's Nissan Juke-R and we may be proven wrong again with a V12-powered Aston Martin Cygnet.

That's right, Autocar reports that Aston is studying the feasibility of taking the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet and shoehorning the V12 from its Vantage and DB9 models. Aston says it could fit the V12 in the tiny car's engine bay without major modifications. Its words to Autocar on the challenges were, “significant but not insurmountable.”

It will need some upgrades to handle the added weight. And the motor will likely be detuned from its 510 hp output.

The current Cygnet and iQ are powered by Toyota's 1.3-liter gasoline engine making 97 hp.

If production commences, expect the V12 Cygnet to be sold as a project car such as the Juke-R. Also similar to the Juke-R, if there is enough interest Aston will build it.

Aston Martin says that no such plans are in the works. But if they were going to do this, we think they'd want to keep it a surprise anyway.

By Jake Lingeman