Honda S2000

Time to pay homage.  Honda announced last week, this is the last year of the S2000 roadster; a brilliant car that ran a 10 year stretch.  I for one am sad to see such a keen car be removed from Honda’s dependable but fairly boring line-up.  That’s not to say that Honda is a bad company but the only other sporting oriented car they have is the Civic SI.

The S2000 roadster is almost a perfect combination of sport, handling and fun.  It is a tribute to the company to pull 237 HP out of a 2.2L engine without forced induction and still maintain dependability.  If you’ve ever driven one you know.

I had the privileged of driving a 2002 s2000 with the 2.0L f20c engine with 240 horsepower (all stock just smaller displacement than the later model S2000).  It wasn’t too spectacular below 5,500 rpm but when it hit the VTEC it was like a kick in crotch.  You were instantly shoved back into the seat and the engine reved and didn’t stop till the tachometer needle wrapped around to 9,000 rpm. But the engine didn’t just make the car great, it handled well too and had the proper look of a great roadster.

So why is Honda stopping the production?  Well, the original production was only going to be limited for Honda’s 50th anniversary but due to high demand Honda extended the production.  So it was over due to end, I guess.

With the S2000 no longer in the line-up, it makes me wonder what Honda is going to do to fill the Roadster/Sports Car segment of its automotive market.  They might pull the same thing as Toyota and forget altogether about the group of people who actually like to drive sports cars and roadsters.

Enough bashing Toyota, this article is about Honda and if I have anything to suggest to them, it is this:  Do you Honda remember the brilliant Prelude?  Do you remember the S2000?  Have you looked at what your rivals are putting out, the G37 or better yet the Hyundai Genesis Coupe.  Honda, you should reintroduce, nay, reinvent the Prelude.  Make it rear wheel drive…

And why can’t they? They  have all the engineer into the s2000 suspension and drive train just make a new Prelude body and be done.  I’m going to miss the S2000 and I can’t wait to see how Honda fills the new void in my life.

All images courtesy and copyright of Honda.