While Honda's reputation has been quite considerably restored by recent Civic Type Rs, it's hard to imagine its standing amongst enthusiasts ever returning to the height that it enjoyed around the turn of the millennium. The wealth of tuning options for various Integras, Civics and Preludes meant they became the darlings of the tuner scene. Just in time for Fast and Furious...
Therefore, to mark the 20th anniversary of one of its icons - yes, the S2000 really did come out in 1999 - Honda has revisited the car. Officially called the 20th Anniversary Prototype, this is a car built by Honda Access to reflect customer demands. Because, believe it or not, the S2000 isn't quite perfect. So we're told this one has revised suspension, as well as the new bumper/grille arrangement and racier bucket seats. Also, because this is a modern reinterpretation, lots of black accents - including those smoked headlights. Honda has said there aren't any performance upgrades as yet, but there is a "new lid for the audio system" - maybe the tape player has gone at last.
Honda isn't stopping there with its Tokyo extravaganza, either, as it's also got to work on the original, EK9 Civic Type R. According to Carscoops, this Civic is meant to represent what young people like in a car nowadays, though arguably it looks a lot like what young scallywags have always done with their Civics: big wheels, punchy bodykit, LED lights with eyelids and a chunky rear spoiler. It's a set of parcel shelf 6x9s away from a Max Power special.
All silliness aside, it goes to show how important heritage now is even to brands like Honda, with older models being given a new lease of life. Owners should keep an eye out come January for exactly what these prototype parts will comprise, because we all know there's a great deal of affection in the UK for both these models. And more of them kept away from the scrapheap, or less left unrepaired, sounds like good news to us.
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