Luxury carmaker Aston Martin has forged an innovative alliance with Toyota to develop what could be the world's first luxury city car.

Aston Martin on Monday released a photo of the Cygnet, which is a Toyota iQ with restyled front sheetmetal.

Although officially billed a concept, reports in Britain say that Aston Martin will put the Cygnet on sale next year. At first, it will be offered to current Aston owners or those who have a car on order. But it will be offered to the public later.

The price? The equivalent of $33,000, or £20,000. That's a bit of a step up from the iQ's base price, which checks in at the equivalent of $17,800.
The Toyota iQ is the starting point for the Aston Martin Cygnet.
A picture of The Toyota iQ is the starting point for the Aston Martin Cygnet.

The Toyota iQ is the starting point for the Aston Martin Cygnet.

Aston says a key part of the Cygnet is a new grille design for the automaker. There also are slight changes to the shape of the headlamps, and the addition Aston's signature vents on the hood and front quarter panels.

Aston won't make mechanical changes to the iQ. Toyota will build the cars and ship them to Aston's assembly plant in Gaydon. There, Aston will trim out the car's interior with leather.

Reports say that Aston will build up to 2,000 copies of the Cygnet a year.

One important note: The addition of the Cygnet to Aston's vehicle fleet will improve the automaker's emissions ratings.