Honda S2000
If you think the trend toward roadsters is cooling down, think again.
Honda is jumping into the fray with all four tires, even though it is late to market. Mazda's Miata has been around for several years, and BMW's Z3, Mercedes-Benz's SLK and Porsche Boxster designers are back to the drawing boards working on their next-generation models.
Honda's late entry, the high-performance Honda S2000, is a hot ticket worth waiting for, so before you get carried away at the auto shows and plunk down a deposit for a snazzy new sports car, you may want to wait a few months. The Honda S2000, named for its model year, is scheduled to be at the dealerships in the fall. Although this isn't Honda's first roadster - it built the S500 back in the '60s - it is the first to go on sale here.
Honda's new two-seater is armed with a racing-car starter button and leather Recaro racing-style seats to send enthusiasts into fantasy land. It houses a four-cylinder engine called "fabulously eager" and "amazing" by Road & Track magazine. The roadster is rear-wheel drive, like its competitors.
A front-wheel-drive system pulls a car, while rear-wheel drive pushes it. "The advantage of rear-wheel drive for small cars like the Honda S2000," said Art Garner, a spokesman for Honda, "is that the driver has more of a feel for the whole driving experience, there's more input, you can feel its performance better."
The dual-overhead-cam, 16-valve engine realizes 240 horsepower, justifying descriptions such as astounding, sensational and remarkable. The secret is a new version of VTEC, a variable-valve-timing design developed in Honda's successful Formula 1 racing engines and now adapted for us folks. Honda engines also won two of the last three CART champ-car (formerly called Indy-car) championships, in 1998 and 1996.
You will see peak torque develop at 8,600 rpm, with a redline registering at 9,000 rpm on the dashboard's large digital tachometer. If you reach that figure, the fuel automatically cuts off, spoiling your fun.
The red starter button gives you a sense of revving up a race car, but you still need to insert a key first into the ignition to get everything activated. Then the deep, growly sound wakes up your neighbors and you can begin shifting into the first of six gears.
The interior is a cockpit complete with separate pods for driver and passenger. Safety features include dual air bags, anti-lock brakes and roll bars behind the four-way adjustable seats. A CD player is standard, so is cruise control, air conditioning, a theft-deterrent immobilizer system and the powered ragtop.
The exterior design is classic roadster, with clean and compact lines in four simple colors: black, white, red and silver. Front and rear lights turn the corners neatly, and the dual chrome exhausts provide just enough pizazz to please glitz seekers.
Maybe the Honda S2000's best news aside from its ability to confound members of the automotive media is its price: around $30,000.
The Washington Times
January 29, 1999
Amadio, Jill