When you think of Aston Martin, you think of suave spies like James Bond or high-end luxury sports cars with a timeless look. The Vantage and Vanquish live up to our expectations, but there is one Aston Martin that stands out among the rest, and not in a good way. It’s called the V8 Cygnet.

The Aston Martin V8 Cygnet can be described as a mixture between a BMW I3 and a Smart Car when it comes to appearances. It is a compact, two-door car that would look small if you drove up next to a golf cart. It may bare the Aston Martin badge, but the car itself is somewhat of a lie.

It might look familiar…

While the V8 Cygnet isn’t available in the United States under that name, you might recognize it as Toyota IQ. When you think of it that way, it makes sense that it’s such an unattractive model in the otherwise stunning Aston Martin line up, because it isn’t a real Aston Martin.

Regardless of its odd styling and deceptive nature, the Aston Martin V8 Cygnet has a fan group of its own, allowing it to maintain value and collectability. It costs less than a typical brand new Aston Martin, averaging a cost of about $40,000 which is about what you can get a used Vantage for in good, running condition.

Designed for the European car market, the V8 Cygnet does have some major advantages. Its small sizes makes it easy to navigate slim roadways, and its short length makes it easy to park and move around its traffic.

The V8 Cygnet’s surprising power

While it looks like a Toyota iQ in most appearance, the V8 Cygnet has a lot of components borrowed from the more popular Aston Martin Vantage S, including the transmission and engine, suspension, brakes, and even the wheels. It has a traditional Aston Martin grille that makes it stand out, too.

The V8 Cygnet, while unattractive, does have some impressive power, because of course, it does share an engine with the Vantage S. Under the tiny hood of this compact car is a 4.7L V8 engine. It weighs only 3,031lbs with a perfect 50:50 front-to-back weight distribution with a rear-wheel-drive powertrain that gives this spunky little thing 361 lb-ft of torque.

From the naturally-aspirated V8 owners appreciate 361bhp. That isn’t the only impressive spec of this car though, because it also has a 0 – 60mph time of a reported 4.2 seconds, making it just as fast as the new Porsche Panamera 4S. It also has a similar top speed to the Panamera as well, maxing out at an impressive 170mph, not that you would ever really need to go that fast.

The Aston Martin V8 Cygnet might not have the traditional Aston Martin styling we’ve come to know to love, but it’s power and performance are something to be impressed about. It may not be what we expected, it’s actually better.