Prior Convictions: Sensible supercars
Should the supercar makers embrace downsizing, or do we face another Aston Cygnet as a result?
"Yeah, fair bit," he said, "unless my daughters aren't using their Minis, then I'll usually drive one of those instead."
Which sounded like a familiar story, and one which I could understand entirely. The appeal of a luxury grand tourer or a supercar, or even a big luxury car, is obvious.
But so too is the appeal of something small, nimble; in which you'll get let out of junctions, you can fit in parking spaces, pop over speed bumps without cracking £1,700 of carbon fibre, and make discreet brisk progress without being called a **** every 12 minutes.
Given unlimited resource I'd love to think that I'd commute every day in a McLaren F1, but the truth of it is that after about a week I suspect I'd slide into a Volkswagen Golf R instead, because it would make parking outside the Co-Op easier.
And I don't think I'm alone. The Volkswagen Golf R is probably today's commonest third/fourth/eighth car. I know of a surprising number of people who'll walk past their own £300,000 cars to get into a £30,000 Volkswagen. But I understand why entirely.
What if, though, the motor industry woke up to it too, and offered something as practical, with the finish and price that they demand for their most expensive models?
It could be that they just haven't thought about this yet. They're only now waking up to the fact that extremely wealthy people would rather be seen - or, rather, not be seen - in an SUV that costs a six-figure sum than they would a conspicuous sports car, after all. How far down the automotive food chain could a similar theory hold?
People will pay £100,000 for a modified Land Rover Defender. David Brown asks around the same for a 'remastered' Mini, and because you and I can see the effort, craftsmanship and detail that has gone into it, some of us will pay it.
But these are, ultimately, playthings. Is there room, then, for a more bespoke, tailored, quite quick but still ultimately incredibly usable and reliable modern small car? One which, yes, demands quite a lot of money, I wonder?
And then I remember the Aston Martin Cygnet and think, nah, probably not.
Some have one set that does most of the duties.
Some have many, and just choose whatever suits them. Be it cheap, casual, luxurious, sporty etc.
Some always want to look their best, and only buy the nice ones.
We are talking about the last category then? I know plenty of rich people that are all too happy to escape attention and just wear a pair of normal shoes, and that drive a Golf or a basic Merc, whatever, most of the time...
It's a difficult target for a manufacturer to achieve though - short wheelbase doesn't make for a good ride and it's difficult to decrease NVH without adding lots more mass.
Not sure how many would sell though - people still equate luxury with size.
He leases a posh German for his workaday world, owns a Wrangler for weekend adventures, and has something old-ish or very sporty on the side. A handful of these guys will also have a lost love in need of rebuild, tucked away in a monthly rental garage across town.
"What did you drive here in today?"
"An Aston Martin. Well, actually, it's not, it's a Toyota with a small engine."
As soon as you have to explain it, there's a problem. The image of the AM brand is completely in conflict with a small city car. The MINI by Goodwood was a better approach IMO - getting Rolls to trim a MINI to be super luxurious, and avoiding messing up either brand. I think the issue of space is another that someone mentioned - perhaps these cars might actually be too small; a Focus/Golf sized maybe a better segment for balancing practicality and the sense of luxury delivered by space. It will be interesting to see if the aforementioned Vignale brand works (but I think it doesn't go far enough in terms of the interior differentiation).
Which highlights another issue with the Cygnet. It's marketing was awful. But not as awful as the execution and the cost to AM. They had to buy in the Toyota complete, strip the interior out and most of the bodywork. Chuck it all in the bin and then start again.
Dr Bez needed shooting for such a piss poor strategy, marketing and execution of the project.
"What did you drive here in today?"
"An Aston Martin. Well, actually, it's not, it's a Toyota with a small engine."
As soon as you have to explain it, there's a problem. The image of the AM brand is completely in conflict with a small city car. The MINI by Goodwood was a better approach IMO - getting Rolls to trim a MINI to be super luxurious, and avoiding messing up either brand. I think the issue of space is another that someone mentioned - perhaps these cars might actually be too small; a Focus/Golf sized maybe a better segment for balancing practicality and the sense of luxury delivered by space. It will be interesting to see if the aforementioned Vignale brand works (but I think it doesn't go far enough in terms of the interior differentiation).
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