Electric Swapped Honda S2000: Brilliance or Blasphemy?
We look at a silent S2K and ask the question: is it a blessing or a curse?
The Legend
Modifying the S2000 is a process that many tuners and enthusiasts have undergone with good reason. The F20 and F22 powered streetcars are among the greatest driver cars ever created. Rear wheel drive and lightweight in an era of overweight pigs, manual transmissions and an engine that revs sky high to around 9,000rpm no matter which iteration you choose to wheel. They are renown for positive feedback to the driver with a pure driving experience that puts you above any Nurburgring lap record. Surely one of the best cars ever to be made. So does switching the heart for electric motors ruin this gem or add to the rarity?
image courtesy of flickr.com
Numbers Game
When new, the F20C was a groundbreaking engine that developed a seriously impressive 120hp per liter. A slightly over square design the 11.7:1 compression ratio 2-liter went and sounded like nothing else on the road. I still remember driving one for the first time and walking away with my mind blown. These cars moved despite making a scant 155 lb-ft of torque at 7,500rpm and that’s where this electric swap comes in. It’s actually more of a hot rod than you might think: just 3,000 lbs total weight with 480 lb-ft and 636 peak horsepower. Not exactly slow.
image courtesy of jalopnik.com
You Owe me a 10 Second Car
In the good ‘ol 1320, this new era tuner car will post up a quarter mile time of 10.24 @ 126mph which is nothing to laugh at. A Bugatti Chiron with 1500bhp will put in a 9.9 with trap speeds in the high 130mph to low 140mph range. This S2k is insanely fast and super capable of taking down almost any road-legal car at the drag strip that doesn’t come with a million dollar price tag. Despite ditching the lovely V-TEC equipped OEM engine there is no denying this car is seriously fast. Instant torque helps the Hoosier drag slicks hookup for a remarkable holeshot.
image courtesy of youtube.com
Proof is in the Platform
This isn’t a trailer queen that gets shuttled to the track for a couple passes before running out of juice. It’s based on a relatively standard S2000 platform with electric motors from the Tesla P100D Model S as well as Chevy Volt batteries. Why the difference? Apparently Tesla batteries discharger slower than the Volt which gives them a different power delivery. Hey, sounds like any other tuner car, right? This is just proof that the S2000 can do it all and will be relevant when the EVs take over. If Honda sees people modifying this could we get a new S2k? Maybe a better question is if we would really want one like this in the first place.
image courtesy of youtube.com
A Thought For the Purists
Performance numbers aren’t the only thing that matter in the world—far from it actually. A great sports car has balance and can take a corner well which serves as a baseline to build in power and more speed later on. If you’re into speed, but want nothing to do with this build it’s going to be hard to hear your complaints: 0-60mph gets served up in 2.36 seconds which has to be one of the lowest figures of any road going S2000. Yes, before you ask this car is driven on the road and gets decent enough range to troll the highways of America should you desire to stomp on exotics. It even has a factory soft top. How can you not love it?
image courtesy of pinterest.com
Unfortunate Reality
What this car has accomplished is nothing short of tremendous. It’s super fast, well built and extremely capable. Having said that, if the future of the S2000 were to be some kind of hybrid it’s hard to say what the reaction would be to such a machine. Would you hate it or love it? I think it depends on what electric vehicles can get down to in terms of weight. If Honda made a lightweight well balanced revamp of this car that could hit 60mph in low 3s and cost under $40,000 I think a lot of people would consider it provided they can retain the classic handling that made it so good in the first place. What are your thoughts on this S2000? Is it something you’d drive or never want to see brought into the mainstream? Let us know in the comments below and thanks for reading.
image courtesy of youtube.com