Photo: original image by autoevolution
There's a saying in China that goes a little bit like this: "if something is done right, it's worth copying." They have always been masters of making Mikes, Adibas or Doce Cabbana, not to mention they are also good are ripping off car designs from western companies.
The last examples of this were a Range Rover Evoque made by a company called Landwind and an Audi A6 made by JAC. While Land Rover publicly said they were outraged by the cloning of the car they spent a fortune to develop, Aston Martin are likely not going to care about the Chinese copycat of their Cygnet.
You see, while the Evoque is a huge success, the Cygnet is almost dead now. It was originally designed as a way for Aston to lower their CO2 emissions average and give customers a city car with premium features. The chassis and powertrain were borrowed from the Toyota iQ, while the body shell was of Aston design, including the distinctive front end.
After just 150 examples were built, they pulled the plug on the Cygnet project. More recently, Ford also adopted a similar front end design language for its new generation of Ka city car, which is only available in South America at the moment, but will arrive in Europe next year.
It's that instantly recognizable front end that the Chinese wanted to have for their car. More specifically, we're talking about a little known company called Jiangsu Dao Jue Industrial Corporation, who makes very small electric cars called Dojo Pioneer. Their latest model is called A106-Electric and is based on the older generation, only it comes with a bit more British flair.
We've managed to get official photos and details from their website, according to which this 5-door car measures 3,520mm (138 inches) in length, about the same as the first Daewoo Matiz. It runs along on tiny 13-inch wheels and weighs only 0.8 tons. Power comes from a 13.4 hp electric motor, apparently driving the rear wheels and juiced by an archaic lead-acid battery. The top speed is around 50 km/h (31mph) and a full charge, the range is said to be 120 kilometers (74 miles). Using a standard 220 volt power outlet, the battery can be brought to 80% fullness in "only" 8 hours.
Aston could only dream of such advanced technology!
You see, while the Evoque is a huge success, the Cygnet is almost dead now. It was originally designed as a way for Aston to lower their CO2 emissions average and give customers a city car with premium features. The chassis and powertrain were borrowed from the Toyota iQ, while the body shell was of Aston design, including the distinctive front end.
After just 150 examples were built, they pulled the plug on the Cygnet project. More recently, Ford also adopted a similar front end design language for its new generation of Ka city car, which is only available in South America at the moment, but will arrive in Europe next year.
It's that instantly recognizable front end that the Chinese wanted to have for their car. More specifically, we're talking about a little known company called Jiangsu Dao Jue Industrial Corporation, who makes very small electric cars called Dojo Pioneer. Their latest model is called A106-Electric and is based on the older generation, only it comes with a bit more British flair.
We've managed to get official photos and details from their website, according to which this 5-door car measures 3,520mm (138 inches) in length, about the same as the first Daewoo Matiz. It runs along on tiny 13-inch wheels and weighs only 0.8 tons. Power comes from a 13.4 hp electric motor, apparently driving the rear wheels and juiced by an archaic lead-acid battery. The top speed is around 50 km/h (31mph) and a full charge, the range is said to be 120 kilometers (74 miles). Using a standard 220 volt power outlet, the battery can be brought to 80% fullness in "only" 8 hours.
Aston could only dream of such advanced technology!
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