By Christopher Tan

BABY HATCHING

Aston Martin will make a city car based on the highly successful Toyota iQ. Called the Cygnet (a baby swan, named after Aston's signature 'swan doors'), the two-door hatch will be available only to Aston Martin owners.

Lest you think this is a joke, the Cygnet will arrive in Singapore as early as next year. The collaboration with Toyota looks like a squashed Vantage and the tiny four-seater is expected to help Aston Martin - the maker of big V8 and V12 sports cars - meet strict European emission standards planned for 2012.

The car will have many of the iQ's clever features, such as a flat underfloor fuel tank and asymmetric dashboard. It is estimated to cost $120,000, based on today's COE rates.

BMW GOES TURBO

BMW will introduce turbocharging to its four-cylinder engines, possibly starting with a 2-litre. The Bavarian marque has in recent years turbocharged its six-, eight- and 12-cylinder power plants, in line with what manufacturers like Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo and Saab have done for decades. Recently, Mercedes-Benz jumped on the turbo bandwagon, after a spell of embracing supercharging. The latest turbos offer cleaner and more efficient operation, with few of the downsides associated with past forced induction technologies, such as heat and lag.

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