Honda S2000: Spotted
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The Honda S2000 has aged remarkably well, don't you think? If it were launched today, it'd need little more than a pair of day running lights and an infotainment screen to look cutting edge. Of course, the youthful look contrasts somewhat with the traditional hardware tucked underneath, given the high-revving naturally-aspirated four-pot engine and manual gearbox that typified Honda's glory days.
When it first launched back in 1999 the world was given an attainable sports that could spin its 2.0-litre engine's internals all the way to a rather exotic 9,000rpm. Oh how joyful that trait was. But it came with drawbacks, because without the assistance of a blower or hybrid gubbins like today's sporty stuff, the S2000 had to labour through a lacklustre bottom and mid-range, making its driver wait for a peak of just 153lb ft at 7,500rpm and 243hp 800 revs after that.
Honda's ying was the performance kick delivered by the longitudinally-mounted four as it entered its famed VTEC (y0) zone from 6,000rpm; the yang was living with the car day-to-day, as it didn't provide the muscular mid-range performance some might have expected from a two-door drop-top. It wasn't for everyone, then, but for those who loved its peaky performance, the S2000 followed the Civic Type R into Honda's hall of legends for its powertrain alone.
In the right circumstance, it was an excellent handling machine as well. Since the car was conceived from the off as a convertible, its internals were packaged neatly around its rigid X-bone-based monocoque structure to give it a 50:50 weight distribution and 1,260kg kerbweight - with the former helped by the motor's far back placement under the bonnet, which made it a front-mid-engined machine. It also meant that the S2000 offered more exciting performance than the less powerful Mazda MX-5 and MG F of the day, so long as you loved the thrill of a very mobile chassis.
The power delivery of the S2000 could made it spikey if you got greedy on the throttle with some steering lock on, so it demanded respect, especially in slippery conditions. But when you did nail a corner, the experience was exceptionally satisfying. Anyway, later versions were dialled back so they exhibited a more trustworthy nature, plus, the engine's top-end character was also reduced so power came in more smoothly. You could say this all helped the S2000 grow into its skin.
Today's Spotted is a 2007 car, so gets all of those changes, but its previous owner has upgraded both engine and chassis to provide it with even more focus. The 75k-old car now has a carbon fibre air box, which should give the already vocal 2.0-litre a glorious induction growl under load. And it rides on Ohlins DFV coilover suspension, which is high quality kit, with Mugen bushes and matching geometry, so the car ought to provide enhanced S2000 dynamics and responses. It also suggests the previous custodian really knew their stuff, which bodes well for the condition of the rest of the car. So while this £10,250 example is far from the cheapest, it stands strong as one of the finest we've seen.
SPECIFICATIONS - HONDA S2000
Engine: 1,997cc, 4-cyl
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 243@7,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 163@6,500rpm
MPG: 28.3
CO2: 236g/km
First registered: 2007
Recorded mileage: 75,000
Price New: £25,995
Yours for: £10,250
Click here to see the full ad.
t about the F20 lacking torque - the 2019 Mazda MX-5 2 litre is almost identical torque to this. The 944's 2.7 made less torque than this, despite having Porsche's nouse and no real emissions restrictions.Find me an N/A 2.0 four that has significantly more.
I had one for a while back in 2006. It was an early, 1999 car. Coming from a Civic Type R I recall being totally underwhelmed at first, thinking that an extra 40bhp was somehow going to make a huge difference. It was loud, cramped and unrefined on the trip back home. I remember thinking I'd made a big mistake.
But it wasn't long before I fell for its amazing engine and knife edge handling. Roof down, balmy summer night, LCD rev counter creeping past 6k, 7k, 8k. Wow.
I will have another one day as it's a car that will never look old and will always have its engine to mark it out as something truly special.
Still can't believe it was 13 years ago. Oh to be 24 again!
I wouldn’t recommend one as an everyday car though as I find it hard work when not in the mood compared to a modern FI car and the revs sit at roughly 4K on a dual carriage way at ~70 which feels wearing at times!
t about the F20 lacking torque - the 2019 Mazda MX-5 2 litre is almost identical torque to this. The 944's 2.7 made less torque than this, despite having Porsche's nouse and no real emissions restrictions.Find me an N/A 2.0 four that has significantly more.
they're epic cars, need to be driven differently compared to lazy big engine german rivals but that's where the fun is at! tickling that 9k rpm redline with it screaming it's face off and that amazing gearbox..
oh boi! it makes me happy just thinking about it
no regrets getting mine! puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.Lovely car, but very, very twitchy. Cold tyres and anything other than stroking the throttle and it could go wrong.
Wasn't just my inexperience, everyone I ever met who had an S2000 had an "off" , some worse than others.
But that engine and gearbox - heartbreaking work of staggering genius.
Remember spending an entire day with a friend with a Dremel doing it, going through several discs in the process.
Lovely car, a real Knightrider-esque speedo at the time, and a gloriously chunky gear change. Not particularly fast though, and with an airbox it made a hell of a lot more noise than was translated to actual movement, as is de rigueur. Whilst wringing its neck up to 9k RPM was fun at the time, now I think I'd find it annoying. That probably says more about me than the car though.
OEM Bridgestones were widow makers. You could easily drift it around a mini roundabout in them in just a light drizzle.
I wouldn’t recommend one as an everyday car though as I find it hard work when not in the mood compared to a modern FI car and the revs sit at roughly 4K on a dual carriage way at ~70 which feels wearing at times!
For the price of 1 TTRS I get 2 cars.
I can't wait, pick mine up next week as its in the garage now getting a service and alloy wheel refurb. Ideally I wanted it for this weekend but no point rushing, I'll be keeping it for a long time!!
Lovely car, but very, very twitchy. Cold tyres and anything other than stroking the throttle and it could go wrong.
Wasn't just my inexperience, everyone I ever met who had an S2000 had an "off" , some worse than others.
But that engine and gearbox - heartbreaking work of staggering genius.
The lack or torque argument is false, the car has shorter gearing than most others, so for any given road speed, you're always at higher rpms.
The car is quite happy in 5th gear at 30mph, or 6th at 40mph. By way of comparison, my Golf GTi DSG (230PS, 258lbft) uses 4th at 30mph and 5th at 40mpg. I realise tis is probably to save fuel etc and it could manage, but it's an interesting comparison, I think.
Oh, and the UK cars have 237 bhp, not 243 as per the article.
Here's me giving it a dab of oppo (at North Weald)
Lovely car, but very, very twitchy. Cold tyres and anything other than stroking the throttle and it could go wrong.
Wasn't just my inexperience, everyone I ever met who had an S2000 had an "off" , some worse than others.
But that engine and gearbox - heartbreaking work of staggering genius.
Just needed the tyres to be kept on top of - low tread depth in the wet would be a mistake...Mine was a 2003 in the light silver / blue and was awesome. When you went past someone at 8k+ revs, they knew they’d been overtaken.
t about the F20 lacking torque - the 2019 Mazda MX-5 2 litre is almost identical torque to this. The 944's 2.7 made less torque than this, despite having Porsche's nouse and no real emissions restrictions.Find me an N/A 2.0 four that has significantly more.
The Skyactive engine in the Mazda is actually quite clever in torque delivery ..... for a NA 4 pot. And provides the likes of BBR with a good canvas to work with removing some of the emissions strangulation, for example their full fat 2.0L kit develops 182lb at 3,800rpm which is pretty impressive in my experience of NA engines of this size.
t about the F20 lacking torque - the 2019 Mazda MX-5 2 litre is almost identical torque to this. The 944's 2.7 made less torque than this, despite having Porsche's nouse and no real emissions restrictions.Find me an N/A 2.0 four that has significantly more.
If the S2000 had somehow been priced to compete directly with the MX5 and MG TF, then there'd be no question of its torque output, but it was up against the Z4 3.0, TT V6, Crossfire 3.2, 350Z, and Boxster 2.7; all of which produced more peak torque and at lower rpm.
I seen a yellow S2000 with its roof down the other day and it looked fabulous. I can see these becoming desirable in the very near future with the prices reflecting the same:-
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