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Ask Honda to build a sports car and you can count on one thing. See, these guys have this fetish for setting the world record in the amount of power squeezed from an engine, then breaking it every three years. First it was the NSX, then the Civic Del Sol, then the Integra Type R. Latest in line was the motor in this S2000, whose forged pistons, hollow camshafts, and huge, easy-flow airbox (among other measures) were to thank for its 2.0 puny liters exploding with 240 all-natural horsepower - enough to destroy 3.0-liter Supra Turbos and 5.7-liter V8 Corvettes from just one decade prior. But we'll get to that later, because that's exactly when this engine unleashes its torrent of unsuspected ferocity: later.
As for the right now of ordinary driving, there ain't a whole lot of shakin goin on. The S2000 doesn't launch from a stop with much authority, the electric steering speaks in muted tones, and sticking to the bottom half of the tachometer's range is about as blood-pumping as 60 Minutes. A layman's reaction to the S2000's plain behavior is "this doesn't feel like 240 horsepower" - which the more informed among you know is because that's not the horses you're feeling. What you're feeling is the torque, a.k.a. the muscle, or with 162 pounds-feet of it, the lack thereof.
The only way to ride the horses is to take the adage of "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and apply it to the tachometer. Slam that lever into 2nd or 3rd and keep that right foot where it belongs: the engine's voice and digital tach crescendo in unison with your adrenaline... then comes 6,000 RPM and BAM!, the VTEC switches to the heavy breathing cams, the scenery blurs, and the shriek erupts into the most pleasurable cry legally heard by adolescent ears. Now that's getting what you paid for!
Such addictions were already familiar to Honda sport compact veterans. What the S2000 brought to the table were the unique characteristics of rear-drive handling, raising the car's limits and making those limits more adventurous to explore. The Bridgestone tires (now model RE050, not S-02) grip beyond 0.90g, and the perfectly-weighted nose and low center of gravity let you dart about the road with feline grace. The short-stopping brakes (just 114 feet from 60 MPH) and new drive-by-wire throttle are also pleasures to work with.
Finally, it quickly becomes clear why some call the S2000 home of the world's best shifter. I can't completely agree - the gates are packed so tight that crunches are common on shifts to 3rd; the need for deliberation detracts from the fun. But it's definitely the most pure and direct, with an unmistakable metal-on-metal feel for the hardcore. The lack of slack in any part of this machine - right down to the turn signal - is a key reason it's such an exhilarating companion for open roads of any kind.
Everything written above has always been true, but here's what changed in 2004. To fix the most universal complaint - torque that maxed at 153 and peaked at a far-in-the-distance 7,500 RPM - Honda added 9 pounds-feet and scheduled the whole mass to come online 1,000 RPM sooner, courtesy of a boost in engine size to 2.2 liters. Sure enough, 162 pounds-feet is enough twisting force to motivate 2,855 pounds with Accord-like alacrity - a reasonable if not heart-pounding rate. Just be sure the stick's in the right slot, and you'll never be left high and dry in the daily grind.
But the engine's growth came via a 6.7mm stroke extension. That was enough to drop the redline from a stratospheric 8,800 RPM to a merely sky-high 8,000, and because the VTEC still starts at 6,000, the party's now over, faster. The gears also got juggled: the first five numerically higher for faster acceleration (again, hitting redline earlier), sixth gear lower for quieter cruising. Win some, lose some.
Elsewhere, the wheels grew from 16s to 17s, with the fronts also expanding a half-inch wider (to 7) and the rears by a full inch (to 8.5), making for one of the most staggered layouts in any car today. Similarly, the springs got firmed up in front (6.7%) yet softened in back (10%), and finally the rear stabilizer bar shrunk by 1.8mm, just enough to make it smaller than the front bar. The steering ratio also increased from 13.8:1 to a less hyper 14.9:1.
All that sounds like a guarantee for uninspiring understeer - the front tires do scrub first - yet handling isn't nearly so lopsided. Whether it's the 51% rear weight bias (that's right, a front-engined car with a rear bias), creative calibration of the Torsen limited-slip differential, or something else, the S2000 remains almost as tail-happy as the Miata. Better yet, there's now a standard stability control to catch you should you fall.
Some of the mods helped daily drivability - the S2000 now rides like one of the more upscale skateboards - but it's still as noisy as ever, with racket coming from all directions when the top isn't dropped. Even with the enlarged engine and calmer sixth gear, the tach is still pegged at an Automotive.com record high 3,700 RPM when traveling 70 MPH, nearly crying out for six more gears.
It's a tolerable commuter car, but even after a lifetime of maturation, the S2000 still has a one-track mind - a mind set on the track.
Model year 2006 brings the S2000's third set of wheels (watch for 10-spoke pentagons), third set of [LED] taillights, and first set of daytime running [xenon] lights while the rest of this long-nosed, bullet-shaped midget carries straight through time. Open that long aluminum hood and you'll discover something: that raging red engine sits fully behind the front axle, technically making the S2000 a mid-engined car. Now you know.
It holds a few more surprises, the first of which is that in some ways, the S2000's interior is a reciprocal of other Hondas. That is not a good thing. Brand H's usual display of clean and impeccable ergonomics were lost in some misguided quest for originality. Starting with the Start button, it's a gimmick. Unlike on luxury cars, it works manually (don't press it with the engine running!), accomplishing nothing besides making starting a two-handed affair. The stereo has a cover that looks fine when up but messy when down, pokes your knee, and the low, recessed head unit makes for awkward reaches to the volume and tuning knobs. If they'd gotten any of that right, the redundant stereo controls wouldn't be necessary - and they didn't get those right, either. The channel knob should be a toggle switch so it's not so easily confused with the Mute button, and the whole cluster is barely any closer to the driver anyway, so what was the point?
It's also a roundabout reach to the cruise and stability control switches and the behind-you center console (oddly containing the trunk release), and no glovebox can be found. The "cupholders" are square-shaped afterthoughts, and even the climate controls had their usual four-speed knob hijacked for the sake of a fussy seven-speed toggle switch. Make up your own mind about the digital instrument cluster - they're a model of clarity compared to most digital systems _ but overall the S2000 leaves as little candy for the eye as it does for the mind.
Even the power top could use a rethinking. Even if it lowers in a muy rapido six seconds, having to meddle with two rather complicated latches and set the parking brake before getting started makes it akin to walking two miles and hailing a taxi for the third. I'd rather have a manual top I could toss back in half the time, which would also leave one less thing to break and keep the pounds (and price) down like the engineers obviously intended.
Finally, the softtop boot is so cumbersome it hardly seems worth dealing with. It's a big, floppy slab of rubber that takes up too much trunk and takes the better part of a minute to wrestle and screw into place. Add it all up, and full conversion from top up to top down takes 10-15 times longer in the S2000 than the Miata.
The Honda reciprocality I mentioned has one advantage: the driving position is almost perfect. I may be speaking from only one perspective, but all drivers within walking distance of average size seem to report good comfort as well. Paradoxically, this flexibility was accomplished with a steering wheel that doesn't tilt or telescope. I can't name a single other car guilty of that omission, but if this is what it takes for Honda to make a car whose steering wheel isn't a mile away, so be it.
And from this point forward, the S2000 shines. The tight little steering wheel is a leather-wrapped driver's tool, the seats are firm and flexible, the super-cool aluminum pedals (with rubber inserts) are weighted and spaced well, and all body parts rest in all the right places. The shifter falls right to hand, and in case you want to get really creative on the road, so does the parking brake. The windblocker is one of the better, non-rattling types, and the clock that got added a few years back now gets new company from a new outside temperature gauge and oil life monitor. Legibility of all primary and secondary controls is fine, and visibility has been just as good (by roadster standards) ever since the original plastic rear window hardened into glass.
One ongoing target of the upgrade department is the stereo. The original four speakers just doubled to eight after the addition of two standard speakers in each of the roll bars. None are subwoofers yet the bass is passably deep, and while the sound still isn't the warmest in the world, it's a flight of stairs above the usual token Honda stereo. The factory is silent on the wattage rating, but it's clearly several times higher than the 30 watts (!!!) of the original. XM is still optional, MP3 still isn't.
With all the climbing content over the years, the S2000 just needs one more thing: side air bags. Yet it's still ahead of the safety curve overall: an automatic passenger air bag means junior can come with you on a summer drive, and unlike most cheaper convertibles, those roll bars are real.
Despite a protruding spare tire and protruding hinges, the tiny trunk leaves enough space to count for something: 5.0 cubic feet. The indented well comes in handy, and there's an emergency release.
When it was new, the S2000's avalanche of attention wasn't hard to explain. Three of its four rivals seemed like stone-age anachronisms with space-age price tags, bordering on 50 grand when equipped with the powertrain needed to keep up with the $33K Honda.
BMW and Mercedes' entries are now modern pieces of engineering and all four are now faster, but some things never change: BMW, Mercedes, and Audi still need their most potent V6s to match the S2000's firepower (Z4 3.0si, SLK350, TT 3.2), and together with the Porsche Boxster range from $43,590 to $47,725. None of which are within driving distance of Honda's $34,600.
There's one way to combine Honda's bang-for-the-buck with the relaxed six-cylinder muscle, greater isolation, and available automatic transmissions of the others: by picking up a Nissan 350Z Roadster for $35,655. Highly recommended if that's your thing.
But in that whole crowd, only the Boxster comes close to matching the S2000's class-leading weight, class-leading agility, class-leading engine efficiency and fuel economy (25+ MPG), and class-leading reliability (not to mention class-leading noise and ride hardness). Just ask yourself if you'd rather take the Boxster's superior torque or the S2000's racier rush at the edge. Then ponder how much $12,000 means to you.
Have you seen the latest Honda hybrid? It combines Civic economy with NSX performance at an Accord price.
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