Here's a write-up by Mike Dushane of Car and Driver, who provides a good overview of the S2000 CR and particularly how this is a retirement gift of the father of the S2000, Shigeru Uehara, Honda R&D’s Executive Chief Engineer. Another gift by Honda to track nut-cases like us.
http://www.caranddriver.com/autoshows/12648/2008-honda-s2000-cr.html
Note the video interview of Shigeru Uehara!
The S2000 CR is positioned as a "track-ready" car - definitely not a street poseur car and not even a daily driver. Poseurs should add their own wings to an existing S2000. Daily drivers should stick with a "regular" S2000 - and put it in their garage and drive a TSX on weekdays.
Those of us who are track drivers may or may not consider this car... the aero add-ons are good for those of us who drive on tracks where we can maintain >100 MPH (everyone knows that the S2000 needed these kinds of aero fixes). The suspension mods are nice, but we can do better from several aftermarket parts vendors, and even get the (necessary) adjustability that any true track junkie would require. So it's debatable whether or not any of us would even want to start with this car for the aero or suspension mods it offers.
The deficiencies of the current car for track use have not been addressed: the roll hoops are still too short and the rear discs aren't even vented. Putting a snap-on top on the car won't qualify it with groups that disallow convertibles (as most do these days). Those groups will require a very serious 4-point rollbar - at least - of the type that can't be put in a car that still has a functional soft-top. The S2000 CR does not, so buyers should be ready to weld in a 4-pt cage. And there goes the resale value, if that matters to you. I've been a track junkie for 27 years, and don't want to be driving the same car on the track after a year or two. Resale value is very important to me - and the thought of turning in a car with welded-shut holes left over form the rollbar removal is rediculous..
And lets face it - convertibles are on the way out for track use and what we really need is a fixed hardtop. 9 years of the current car have been absolutely fabulous, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth and we do all want to see what's coming next. If it was up to me, we'd have a hardtop built into the car, and Honda's new turbo engine under the hood. The current chassis needs better brakes - vented on the rear with integral-drum parking brakes. Then we've got something that is a good basis for the start of required track modifications.
So, great effort Honda - but the jury is out on this one.
