Hi guys, I just moved from Singapore to Dubai and bought a 1999 Porsche Boxster a month and half ago, and am now a hair's breadth from switching over to a 2004 Honda S2000.

That said, I'm confused by one thing -- the car I am looking at was purchased on 11 Sept 2004 and appears to be a model year 2004 with the 17" rims, Potenza RE050 rubbers, and the facelift. However, a check on the engine (which has only done 12,500 km) reveals that it is an F20C2 block and not an F22 block. This car has been religiously maintained by the previous owner (who, interestingly enough, moved from Dubai to Singapore just a couple of months back) at the Honda distributor here in the UAE, so it seems unlikely that he managed to blow the F22 block and replaced it with the F20.

A search on Google and across multiple forums reveals that the 2004 model saw some improvements, one of which being the F22 block (which isn't a deal-breaker for me since I like the high-revving F20 block), but I have not been able to find anything about any 2004 models that run the F20C block. This car is fully stock, and has 1 year of warranty remaining.

The cars here in Dubai are left-hand drove, just like in the US, with the exception that they are designated as Gulf-spec -- apparently the air-conditioning and cooling systems have been tweaked to handle the extreme desert heat here in the Middle East (today's weather is 48 deg Cel) -- so I haven't got any benchmarks I can compare against.

Any feedback on this particular model would be very much appreciated. As much as I do enjoy the 2.5l flat-6 of the Boxster, the S2000 is a more affordable and reliable car to maintain, and I would really like to hear from owners who have driven the Boxster 2.5 and the S2000 and share with me your thoughts and experiences, and anything I should look out for on this new car.

Thanks in advance

 

if i'm not mistaken, in 2004 only the US got the 2.2 engine, the rest of the world, i believe, still had the 2.0.

 

What he said. I don't think any of the other markets got 2.2 liter engine until this year. At least I think there is a 2.2 JDM now.

It may also be worth noting that the engine# will probably not match the VIN#

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...0&#entry5761893

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...=0&#entry846177

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...0&#entry6298034

 

Thanks for the advice, guyts. I just returned from the dealership. All it took was one more test drive to convince me that the top-up of $5200 was well-spent!

The F20C2 is a gem of an engine and the car is just so much better built and more precise than the 99 Boxster. No regrets and looking forward to tracking the car in the coming months once summer is over.

On a side note, the tonneau cover is a PITA to attach and detach. Do I really have to have it on, or can I drive without it? Is there a special way to get it on and off really quicky without having to struggle?

 

i never use it anymore...in fact, i think i've only put it on twice since i've bought the car.

 

Oh, good. That's pretty much set my mind at ease. That cover has also been irritating the heck out of me as it rattles/vibrates at speeds above 130 kmph.

The electric roof is amazing. While it takes less time to get the latch unlocked on the Boxster, the roof on the S2000 goes down MUCH faster in comparison, and makes putting the roof up at traffic light so much less stressful (no more having to go 'come on, come on, finish up already, damn it'

 

I threw my cover in my basement the day I got the car....that was 3 years ago.