Someone got a convincing Aston Martin Cygnet replica for under $10k

The petite city car known as the Scion iQ wouldn’t have been as popular if Aston Martin hadn’t rebadged it as the Cygnet. That weird automotive creation had a production run capped at several hundred units, and someone in the USA wanted to drive one without the premium sticker attached, so they built a replica.

The build was completed 11 years ago. The iQ was resprayed from its shade of silver into black and outfitted with a surprisingly extensive body kit. It included a custom front bumper, an Aston-inspired radiator grille, a new hood cover, side skirts and rear bumper. To further the semblance, the owner replaced the wheels with 16-inch rims wearing Aston hubcaps.

To make sure it handled better than the stock car, they also installed a TRD sway bar at the back, sportier springs and Wilwood brake calipers with slotted/drilled rotors. As a result, this iQ should fare considerably better at cornering.

The stock 1.3-liter four-pot rated at 99 PS (97 hp / 73 kW) continued its duty under the hood. The listing mentioned an HKS air intake as the only upgrade down there. That’s a bit of a letdown, seeing how some enthusiasts equipped the Cygnet with a 430-PS (424 hp / 316 kW) V8. The video here shows one such example tearing along the Goodwood track.

In the listing, the owner said the tuning alone cost around $10,000 – donor car not included. It’s therefore a bit sad to know that the result fetched only $9,850 at a BaT auction earlier this week.