There’s a new phenomenon making its way around the auto enthusiasts of the world — at least the ones fortunate enough to have access to decent public transportation. Monday through Friday, these drivers shuffle to the bus top, squeeze into metro cars and generally suffer the indignity of being without personal transportation in a society that seems to think sidewalks are a waste of resources and sprawl is a civil engineering principal. Why would someone who likes to spend their time behind the wheel subject themselves to such inhumanity? Because doing so allows them to save for a truly special car for weekend hell raising.

So what does that have to do with the Aston Martin Cygnet? As you may have heard, rumors are kicking around the Web right now saying the company will only sell the city car to people who already own a big-boy Aston Martin. If you already own an Aston, why bother with a Toyota iQ with a new face? Because the sizeable V8s and V10s of the Cygnet’s big brothers drink more fuel in a quick trip to the grocer than the pint-size Cygnet could manage to swill down in a full year. If owners have the choice of a car with a diminutive four-cylinder for drives around town and errand running, odds are they’ll save a considerable amount of fuel in a year and preserve their genuine Aston Martin for more exclusive driving.

While owning more than one car may seem counterproductive to all-things green, Aston Martin may be onto something with the Cygnet. The little car will offer buyers all of the interior refinement of its more pricey brethren, but will manage to cut emissions and fuel consumption at the same time by being an alternative to using a large-displacement engine car as a daily driver.