What’s the Story Behind this Abandoned, Mangled S2000?

Trapped at the bottom of a gulch in Azusa, California, no one has come forward to claim this poor red S2K.

We’ve all seen photos of dusty, abandoned supercars in Dubai. As distressing as those photos are, they don’t hold a candle to what we’re seeing here.

These photos were shared to a Honda S2000 group on Facebook. It appears that they were snapped by Adan Calderon, a local S2000 enthusiast who posted them.

This poor, defenseless Honda S2000 lays abandoned in a gulch, a hundred or more feet off the road on California State Route 39. That road, also known as San Gabriel Canyon Road, is one of the best driving roads in Southern California. Some even say that CA 39 rivals the legendary Mulholland Drive.

We’re not so sure about that, but it’s perhaps that reputation that led to this car’s unfortunate fate, abandoned and forlorn at the bottom of a steep hill. Perhaps the car’s driver became overconfident and lost control, sliding off the road.

From the looks of things, it’s unlikely that they injured anything more than their pride. Since the owner is nowhere to be found, we can safely assume they walked away.

Of course, it is possible that the car was stolen and tossed after a joyride. That seems unlikely, though, since no police department or insurance company has stepped up to remove the vehicle. Since the road winds through the Angeles National Forest, the forest service will be towing it in a few days if nobody claims the car.

Even if it isn’t stolen, it’s possible that nobody will come forward to claim it. The cost to tow a car out of a gulch is exorbitant, and there’s a good chance that the car will get seriously damaged in the process. We may soon be seeing this car offered for sale at a government auction. Expect at least some underbody damage.

It’s a sad fate for one of the greatest sports cars ever made. We sincerely hope that someone rescues this car and returns it to a life of fun and fast corners — but not too fast, of course.

Photos: Adan Calderon

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Cam Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.