Launched in 1999, the S2000 was built to commemorate Honda's 50th
anniversary, and with Honda having the massive budget and resources they do,
rather than simply fitting an existing engine from their range they decided to
design a completely new one for it - something a bit special utilising
technology derived from Honda's racing engines.
Designed by some of the engineers behind Honda's winning F1 and CART engines,
the S2000's two litre DOHC straight four (a configuration chosen for
compactness) boasts such race-bred features as roller rockers, forged shallow
skirt pistons, ladder frame main bearing stiffener and fibre reinforced
aluminium for the cylinders. It's also smaller and lighter than Honda's regular
two litre engine, and at 237bhp sets a new record for highest specific output
for a normally aspirated production car engine.
Of course without some form of forced induction, getting such high power
outputs from just two litres requires high revs, which in turn requires cams
with high lift and long duration to provide sufficient valve opening to allow
the engine to draw in large amounts of air/fuel mix. Great at high revs but crap
at low revs, which is a real problem for a road car - or would be without
Honda's ingenious VTEC system, which works by literally having two camshafts in
one, with three cams (two mild ones sandwiching a central wild one) for each
pair of valves.
In normal running the mild cams do the work, operating the valves via rocker
arms just like with an ordinary 16-valve engine. The clever bit happens around
5850rpm when pins lock the previously redundant central rocker arm to the two
outer ones, at which point the valves are then controlled by the high lift, long
duration cam, providing the improved breathing the engine needs to run at high
revs. And in the S2000's case high revs means a mind-boggling 9000rpm.
Having read the S2000's power delivery described as "all or
nothing" I was interested to see what it was really like, so on my first
outing I ran up through the rev range waiting for a point when the power kicked
in with a bang. It never happened, the S2000 accelerating with what seemed like
a very linear power delivery. A subsequent look at the power curve graph in the
press pack (which the post office belatedly delivered after I'd finished testing
the car) confirmed that this is indeed the case.
The S2000's engine will actually pull from around 1000rpm/20mph in sixth,
even though the vibrations make it obvious it isn't happy doing it, and it's
sufficiently flexible that you can stay in top and still catch up with A-road
traffic. But while the engine might have 237bhp and linear power delivery it
lacks the low to mid-range grunt of similar power but larger capacity engines,
so getting the S2000's 1260kg past that traffic on anything other than a dual
carriageway requires full use of the gears and the top end of the rev range.
Scream if you want to go faster
That's because the S2000's engine only starts doing its best work after most
car engines have stopped doing theirs, namely over 6000rpm, with maximum
performance requiring the sort of revs that would blow most car engines to bits,
peak torque (208Nm) being delivered at 7500rpm and peak power at 8300! And
maximum performance in the S2000's case equates to 0-60 in 6.2 seconds and
150mph.
With the engine running on the mild cams the S2000 remains reasonably quiet,
hood up or down, which with little wind noise or buffeting makes for a relaxed,
comfortable cruiser. Start putting those central cams to work though and things
understandably get rather raucous, though that's not because of any harshness
from the engine but down to the exhaust, which if you keep the engine working in
its upper range through the lanes produces a glorious race car soundtrack.
Keeping the engine spinning in that upper rev range is aided by the superb
close ratio six-speed gearbox with its short and very slick shift, which
combined with the light clutch pedal makes changing gear a real delight. Like
the engine, the gearbox is also specially made for the S2000 and has been
designed to be as narrow as possible so the engine could be set back for 50/50
weight distribution without half the interior being taken up by transmission
tunnel.
The result is a footwell that accommodates three widely spaced pedals and a
full size footrest with ease, while there's plenty of room for the other end of
your body too, with about three inches of headroom for Mr Average types. Other
ergonomic points worth mentioning are the comfortable, supportive seats and the
siting of the heater and various stereo controls (volume, track/channel change
and mute) within easy reach on either side of the instrument binnacle.
And in the instrument binnacle is the interior's undoubted pièce de
résistance, with its computer game graphics of illuminated orange bars for
fuel, temperature and revs and red numbers for speed and mileage temptingly
inviting you to 'play more'...
On the practical side, the S2000's power hood comes in handy when you run
into rain, taking as it does just six seconds to close, and thanks to the
brilliant British summer weather I can tell you that the cabin remains
completely dry even during torrential downpours.
Interior stowage space is limited to a lockable compartment on the rear
bulkhead that's useful for sunglasses, CDs etc, a net pocket in the passenger
footwell that's useful for maps and tiny net pockets in the doors which are too
small to be much use for anything, but at least the boot is a useful size.
All of the aforementioned has been part of the S2000 recipe from day one, but
following criticism of the S2000's handling Honda have recently revised the
all-round double wishbone suspension to make it more progressive at the limit,
with stiffer springs, softer anti-roll bars and recalibrated dampers.
The resulting ride is pretty much what you want in a sports car - firm enough
to inform you what's happening beneath the wheels and prevent undue roll in
corners but compliant enough to be comfortable.
As for the handling, in view of the S2000's 50/50 weight balance I was
surprised when my standard 30mph tight right hander test saw the front end
sliding about six inches off line, though admittedly the road was slightly (but
barely) damp. Similar understeer also occurred during a session on an old
runway. This had a dirty surface, so when driving a 237bhp rear wheel drive car
along in second, turning the wheel and applying the power you'd normally expect
the rear wheels to spin, followed by the car. With the S2000 though it was the
front tyres that gave up their grip, the Honda's nose again sliding wide
throughout a 180° turn.
Getting the back end round required the use of either the handbrake or the
clutch, at which point a heavy right foot could provoke the S2000 into power
oversteer, resulting in some very sideways attitudes and violent fishtailing,
though suitable adjustments to the steering and throttle always managed to keep
it heading in the intended direction.
In less extreme use on a grippy surface though the S2000 generally feels
quite neutral, sticking doggedly to its line through numerous fast circuits
round large roundabouts. Steering it wide then tightening your line and getting
on the throttle induced just enough power oversteer to help the car turn in but
not enough to get it sideways. In fact the only time I had to apply opposite
lock on the road was when getting off the throttle mid-bend, which can
result in sudden lift-off oversteer. Fortunately you only have to be a
Pistonheader rather than a Schumacher to sort it out when it happens.
Such recoveries are helped by the electronically assisted steering, which
isn't just quick at 2.25 turns lock to lock but also has variable pitch teeth on
the rack so the more lock you apply the quicker it gets. Clever, as is the use
of speed and torque sensors to vary the level of assistance. Just a pity the
system doesn't transmit more information to the sensors holding the steering
wheel.
The all round discs are equally useful at helping you cope with sudden
"moments" having good bite and excellent stopping power, and in their
case I've no reservations about electronic interference, the ABS enabling the
S2000 to pull up quickly and straight even on a wet road.
Not having driven the original version I can't comment on the differences
this year's revisions have made, but certainly in its current form the S2000 is
both docile enough to cope with daily commuting and potent enough to provide
some high speed fun at weekends, and even if it isn't as dynamically
entertaining as some, it's still the most powerful practical sports car you can
get new for £26,000.
However, while I agree with Honda that the S2000's engine is indeed an
"engineering masterpiece" I'd still prefer my 240bhp to come with more
capacity, more cylinders and more torque.
[verdict]Honda S2000[/verdict]
[links]Honda|honda[/links], [owners]Honda[/owners]