Cars
ByTravis Langness/
The Honda S2000 received quite a bit of praise from the automotive press when it launched in 1999. A stylish two-seater with a drop top and the instant character provided by the high-revving F20 engine meant lots of enthusiasm from Honda-faithful and objective journalists alike. Some outlets complained about the relatively-low level of torque (just 153 lb-ft) and the high-revs required to access its full 240 horsepower (full power was achieved at 8,300 rpm), but it was generally a hit. It was a relatively affordable sports car from a brand that has a reputation for reliability — an excellent combination.
Roadsters like the Mazda Miata offered cheaper top-down motoring (with a base price around $20,000 compared to the S2000's $30k plus price tag) but the Honda felt much more upscale and focused on performance. Not to mention, it had 100 horsepower more than the Miata, so there was a wide performance gap. The 2,800-pound curb weight meant it was light and nimble too, not just a tower of high-revving power. It turned out that this plucky Honda was more in line with competitors from Porsche, BMW, and Audi. So why did it die off? If the S2000 was so beloved, made such big power, and was so great to drive, why was it relegated to the history books?
Declining sales
The S2000's impressive power, along with the handling capability, and sleek styling meant a strong launch in the United States. In 1999, the S2000 sold 3,400 units in the U.S – and it launched mid-1999 so it didn't have a full twelve months of sales figures to report, but the following year, sales essentially doubled to 6,797. Sales for the S2000 peaked in 2001 and 2002, with 9,682 units being sold in 2001 and 9,684 in 2002 — nearly 10,000 each year in the U.S. alone. Sales were relatively strong for the next few years, with Honda selling over 7,000 S2000s in 2003, 2004 and 2005, but things started to drop off considerably after that.
In 2006, Honda sold 6,271 S2000s in the United States, and in 2007 that number dropped to 4,302. The racetrack-inspired S2000 CR (Club Racer) edition debuted in 2007, but it wasn't enough to stop the sales slump. The United States was hard-hit with an economic crisis/recession in 2007 and that meant lower sales of all cars, including high-performance sporty vehicles like the S2000. New vehicle sales dropped nearly 40 percent during the recession and in 2008, S2000 sales were down to just 2,538 units – about a quarter of the peak sales from just a few years earlier. By comparison, Honda sold over 300,000 Civics the same year. And in 2009, the final year of the S2000's production, just 795 models were sold.
Never meant as a mainstay
According to Honda, the S2000 was originally designed as a limited-edition vehicle, meant as a tribute to the company's 50th anniversary. Customer interest and critical acclaim led to an extension of the S2000's production that was longer than originally intended, so this may have been the roadster's fate all along. This limited production, however, means current S2000 owners have a hot commodity on their hands — one that it's too late to get a good deal on now. Honda sold over 110,000 S2000s during the decade-long run of the roadster, but low mileage examples in good condition are relatively rare these days, and their prices are pretty high as a result. The rarest S2000s are the CR models, with prices for low-mileage versions going sky-high in recent years.
Auction website Bring A Trailer sold one S2000 CR (with just 123 miles on the odometer) for a whopping $200,000. That's more than five times the original MSRP of a 2009 S2000 CR – which checked in atjust $36,995 (and add another $1,000 if you wanted a stereo and air-conditioning). In the last few years, BaT has hosted auctions for six S2000 CRs cars that sold for over $100,000 – a huge jump over their original asking price. So, while the S2000 may be dead, there's still a big demand for them on the second-hand market, and potentially enough good will to bring back the nameplate.
Will they ever bring back the S2000?
When the S2000 first came to market, it debuted with a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produced 240 horsepower– which meant it was producing 120 hp per liter, an incredibly high number for any sports car, especially one on a budget. That sort of specific output is the stuff of supercars these days — high-output vehicles like the Ferrari 458 and the Porsche 911 GT3 are amongst very few vehicles that can outpace the S2000 when it comes to naturally aspirated horsepower per liter. The stature of vehicles like the 458 and GT3 put into perspective what the S2000 achieved, which was relatively astonishing, even by today's standards. So, it's worth noting that bringing back the S2000, in a way that would honor its legacy, would be a daunting task.
Over a decade after its discontinuation, independent shops are still building S2000 project cars. Enthusiasts are praying to the car gods that Honda will hear their cries and build another affordable, four-cylinder (even if it's turbocharged), rear-drive roadster. But with the shift to electric vehicles nationwide and Honda Global's stated goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, a gasoline-powered two-seater sports-coupe making it into the lineup isn't very likely – especially one that revs to 9,000. So if you're looking for an S2000 experience, the only place you're going to get it is likely in the driver's seat of the original.
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