He added that the company had finally adapted to the philosophies of car buying in a new greener age. “Aston Martin has reduced the CO2 emissions of its cars by 15 per cent in the past year but it has no real impact on anything,” he said.

“What the Cygnet will do is allow our customers to drive a car with all the hallmarks of Aston Martin’s design philosophy but one that is cheap to run, is environmentally friendly and, above all, extremely safe.”

One question does remain, however — would James Bond be seen in one? Time will tell.

Thousands of miles apart

Aston Martin

Founded 1913 in London

Employees 1,250

Vehicles made each year 7,000

Most famous for DB5, driven by James Bond in Goldfinger

The name Derived from that of the founder Lionel Martin and the Aston Hill speed climb track in Buckinghamshire

Toyota

Founded 1937 in Toyota City, Japan

Employees 320,000

Vehicles made each year 7 million

Most famous for Prius, one of the first mass-market hybrids

The name “Toyoda” became Toyota after a Japanese designer left two lines out of the design in order to use eight “lucky” brush strokes