Aston Martin Cygnet news - Aston Martin Cygnet is real, coming next year - 2010

Lotus might have wowed the world in Paris last week with some brand-busting plans around its new range, but don't forget Aston Martin got there first.

Its controversial Cygnet city car, first seen as a concept last year, was today declared a reality. Production will begin in Gaydon in 2011. At just three metres long, it will be the smallest Aston ever built.

And contrary to earlier rumours, the car will be available to all, not just existing Aston owners.

See more pics of the Aston Cygnet

Other details are sketchy as yet, but one thing remains certain: the Cygnet is still based on the Toyota iQ. And it's still causing much scratching of heads at Top Gear HQ.

While design chief Marek Reichman has done a good job on making an iQ look like an Aston, it's still unmistakably an iQ underneath, albeit one with "an unlimited palette of materials, colours and textures, each one hand-finished and unique".

Prices are not yet announced, although we understand £30,000 shouldn't be too wide of the mark for customers to get one on their (tiny) drive. That's without options too, so once the no-doubt spectacular individual additions are announced, expect that number to spiral.

And if you are currently beating your chest and wondering what the hell's going on, don't forget our old friend CO2. With all those awesome V8s and V12s coming off the production line, Aston does need a way of getting down its fleet emissions. And at, say, 120g/km, this is how.  

So, what do you all think? Will you be getting one?