According to the company, they are planning to roll out 20,000 units per year. At press time, both Aston Martin and Toyota are planning for a European release for 2011 but so far nothing is confirmed yet. This could be the start of Aston Martin’s move towards moving towards a more affordable market and producing cars in other segments instead of continuing in its top range sporty and luxurious cars.
The iQ is essentially a front-wheel drive mini-segment car which have already been selling in its native country of Japan as well as certain parts of Europe. The significant element of the iQ is in its low CO2 emission which translates to its eco-friendliness as well as the fact that its compactness makes it easy to drive and whizz around. Of course, this would not have been the most ideal direction for Aston Martin 10 maybe 15 years ago, but to take it a step further, today’s automotive environment would surely have ‘pressured’ them to go down this road.
A quick glance at this car tells you that the design is pretty contemporary with nice looking tail lights, fenders and the front lamps. Apart from that, there really is not much to shout about in its performance because the engine would most likely give you about 150 horses and perhaps go up to 165 or something like that. Aston Martin’s are known for their 500 over horsepower engines.
Even with that in mind, you would not assume that this would be a cheap car because despite being smaller and more ‘commercial’ than its other models, it is at the end of the day a car carrying the ‘Aston Martin’ brand which means that they are still targeting Aston Martin cars, so don’t jump into conclusion that it will be available for everyone. Despite all that, such a move forward could just be refreshing for this age-old classic luxurious brand.
