S2000 Here to Stay???
Our friends at Temple of VTEC may have scooped us on this one, but the incredibly responsible journalists who make up your S2ki editorial/reporting staff would never print unsubstantiated rumors about the S2000 without first investigating. Well, almost never… It appears that the latest Road and Track magazine has made some interesting assertions; lets examine them, shall we?
On page 27, in their article: “2008 and Beyond! Future Cars,” the R&T editors claim that they have been assured that our beloved S2000 is not only here to stay, but that Honda execs have assured them that the company is not about to give up on its “Halo” sports car. As Honda tends to make changes every other model year, it supports R&Ts assertion that this new incarnation would debut with the 2008 model, possibly even premiering at the 2007 Tokyo auto show. (Start checking those frequent flyer accounts…)
There are very few details in the article but plenty of speculation. The article indicates that the “new” S2000 will be upgraded to be more competitive with Toyota’s upcoming 350HP Supra and the next generation of Nissan’s 350z. They suggest that the new power-plant would “probably be a 2.4-liter version of Honda’s K24 inline-4″ developing 250hp at 7000 rpm and 180 lb-ft of torque at 4800 rpm, but they also speculate about a possible 3.0L V6. The “probable” option offers only a minor improvement over current levels, and frankly sounds more like a tweak than a makeover.
Keep in mind, this is the same Road and Track magazine that a short time ago proclaimed the S2000 dead and soon to be replaced by the mythical “XGA,” so I wouldn’t go rushing to your local Honda dealer to place your orders just yet. The R&T editors admirably admit their having been wrong several times before when they’ve proclaimed the ddemise of the S2000, but they insist that this time their info is from sources deep within Honda who are not only developing the new S2000, but also the next generation NSX. Are they right this time??? Time will tell.
Editor’s note: The above photo is not the purported future S2000, but rather our own HunterEZ’s street/track car that premiered this past weekend on the track at Buttonwillow Raceway. The photo in the R&T article looked something like an Accord coupe with the top ripped of, but also a bit like a Civic del Sol that had broken into Barry Bonds’ “special” medicine chest. Aside from the fact that the publishers of that magazine probably wouldn’t appreciate our stealing their photo, we couldn’t believe that Honda would actually perpetrate such a monstrosity on loyal S2000 lovers like our wonderful little gang here on S2ki.com.
If the S2000 is to get an overhaul, your editors would like to see the current S2k motor or maybe even an F20c with some serious low end torque provided by a turbo system like the one on the new 2.3L RDX turbo which produces an F20c like 240HP but adds a whopping 260 lb-ft of torque at 4500RPMs. Tuned for a motor like the F20c/22, (with a thicker head gasket to reduce compression a bit) a similar turbo could give us a reasonably reliable 320HP/290 lb-ft of torque at modest boost levels.