S2000: Honors its heritage and sets new class standards

A Review by Motor Trend-
Fifty years ago, Soichiro Honda’s fledgling company (founded the year prior) introduced its first motorcycle. Called the Dream, it started Honda on the road to international success. In ’63 the corporation offered its first automobile, a diminutive, front-engine, rear-drive, two-seat sports car. Dubbed the S500, its 0.531-liter inline four-cylinder engine boasted double overhead cams, an aluminum block and cylinder head, a quartet of carburetors, a high-revving 8000-rpm power peak, and a then-astounding 81.7 horsepower/liter. (Okay, so that only works out to a total of 43.4 horsepower, but it’s still way more than the then-vaunted one-pony-per-cubic-inch mark.)

This fall, in celebration of its first 50 years, Honda will again offer a front-engine, rear-drive two-seater. Called the S2000 in reference to its engine displacement (as was the “500” in S500) and its 2000 model year, it will both honor its heritage and set new class standards in technical achievement, performance, and affordability. But what captured our imagination is its race-engine-level potency: more than 240 horsepower out of a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine.

We were recently given a special opportunity—an unusual sneak peek—to sit in, squirm under, and photograph—but not drive—a prototype S2000. Few serious details were forthcoming before its official unveiling this spring. Indeed, American Honda officials said it wasn’t certain the S2000 would be badged in this country as a Honda or offered by its Acura division, though we believe the latter is unlikely.

We acquired much of our tech data by lying on the asphalt at Honda’s Twin Ring Motegi motorsport complex before a dawn photo shoot and wiggling as far under the S2000 as possible. We saw that the new roadster features unequal-length A-arm suspension front and rear, with the lower rear arms bolted to a tubular subframe. Mounting its engine behind the front axle helps the S2000 achieve balanced 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. With 94.5-inch wheelbase, 162-inch overall length, and 68.9-inch width, the S2000 is very close to the BMW M Roadster in dimensions.

The vehicle’s most notable component is its amazingly potent but environmentally clean engine. This all-aluminum normally aspirated DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline four pumps out “more than 240 horsepower,” according to Honda. It likely will be fairly peaky power considering the 9000-rpm redline shown on the tachometer and we predict a torque-to-power ratio similar to that of the high-revving Ferrari F355’s DOHC V-8.

Inside the S2000, you’ll find perhaps the most driver-oriented instrument panel on any current car. Gauges cluster tightly around the steering wheel. Dominating is an electronic representation of an analog tachometer with a digital speedometer nestled underneath. A titanium shift knob sits atop the very high center console. However, one special retro touch, the separate, red starter button left of the wheel, probably won’t make it to U.S. shores. Once seated, we found the S2000 boasts impressively generous legroom and wonderfully supportive seats. The electrically operated cloth top currently has a plastic rear window.

Styling is based heavily on the Honda SSM (Sports Study Model) concept car unveiled at the ’95 Tokyo Auto Show and features more than a few themes that relate back to the original Honda S cars. The S2000 has a remarkably long aluminum hood. Its aggressive headlights feature the costly high-intensity discharge low beams and halogen highs. The S2000 will be produced in same Tochigi, Japan, plant as the NSX. It will be considerably less expensive than either the M Roadster or Boxster, its prime opposition, and will likely come in under $35,000.

Aside from its price, the S2000 would be remarkable for its drivetrain layout alone: The S500 and its S600 and S800 successors were never marketed by American Honda (though a few were privately imported), making the S2000 the first front-engine/rear-drive automobile sold by Honda in the U.S. Thanks, Honda, for giving us such a swell present on your birthday.