Honda - S2000

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Best *true* sportscar on the planet! Blogs & RSS feed of the latest news covering the S2000, related news from Honda and Acura, and other "S2K" news of interest. Be sure to see my site S2000Enthusiast.com for complete information.

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008  

 Did Best Car Magazine capture the next S2000? No!
 

Best Car Magazine in Japan snapped two spy pictures of a clay or fiberglass model of a small sports car outside of Honda's R&D headquarters in Japan. It was apparently being hauled in on a pallet when somebody got lucky and snapped a photo (remember that in Japan, nearly every cell phone has a reasonably high resolution camera built in).

Best Car speculates that this is next S2000. The yellow car is their own prediction of styling, the gray car in the photographs is the actual model that was found. You'll notice the two are entirely different...!

A picture named 2_best-car-s2000.jpgA picture named 1_best-car-s2000.jpg

Our opinion: this is NOT AN S2000.

First, lets get it straight what a model like this would be used for. Designers create many alternative styling exercises during the creation of a new model. Some make it into clay, some go further and make it into a fiberglass stage. Often, several models are compared against each other in specially prepared rooms, where stylists, product managers, or executives can compare them against each other. Sometimes the company will bring together potential customers as a "focus group" to make methodical comparisons of their impressions - however those groups are held off-campus to keep assumptions or distractions to a minimum. The attendees usually don't even know which company they are speaking to.

And, these types of things are done years before production.

Now lets look at the photos above.

Note the extra small 4-bolt wheels... while these wouldn't be part of an S2000, remember that the models are just "bucks" - either solid clay or hollow fiberglass inside. Obviously no running gear. So those wheels are just for convenience at this point. Before decisions are made, a final set would be added. 

Then there are the headlights. These are merely the fancy of a stylist... having no possibility of production due to their placement. That tells us that the stylists are looking for styling themes... not production fact.

Then there is the front overhang - which with the very short length of the engine compartment tells us that this is a front wheel drive car with a transverse engine. It is most certainly not a front-mid engine design, where the engine is placed behind the front axle centerline.

So, all together now: this is NOT AN S2000.

It is something... perhaps a model that the earlier OSM concept represented. But, it is NOT AN S2000.


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Friday, August 01, 2008  

 Honda S2000 sales yields worst month in production history
 

2001 S2000s Hondas were sold in the month of July, a time when sales for the year should be peaking. Instead, the S2000 has suffered it's worst month in production history. How much longer can this go on? A local dealer just sold it's CR for 30k even... apparently the CR model didn't help sales at all.

What's wrong here? This is a reasonably economical car to own and it's a blast to drive. Are drivers so spoiled by luxury touches that they don't want a pure sports car anymore?

A picture named s2000_2008-07.jpg


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Monday, July 14, 2008  

 What is the Honda OSM Concept?
 

This is Honda's official drawing of the OSM concept car they will introduce next week at the 2008 British International Motor Show . Web speculation abounds as to what this is - either a hybrid FWD sports car or an S2000 replacement - or both? Very limited statements by Honda seem to confirm that it is not an S2000 replacement but no further details are being made available now.

A picture named honda_osm-concept.jpg

Looking at the drawing, we can see follow-on elements from the S2000, but it's also clear that this is a FWD car. Note the long front overhang and the minimal distance between the front wheels and doors - clearly not a front/mid engine platform. Note that Honda announced a few weeks ago that there would be several new hybrids coming soon and undoubtedly t his is one of them.

Stay tuned next week for official news of the OSM.


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Monday, July 07, 2008  

 Speculation abounds on the next Honda S2000
 

Current Japanese car magazines are discussing what a model year 2010 S2000 might look like, and have produced a speculative sketch: A picture named Hon_S2000_2010_render.jpg

In my opinion, the sketch simply expresses current Honda styling trends, and certainly did not originate from Honda. Furthermore, the styling elements are a couple of years old, and Honda's design language will have advanced by then. Look at the upcoming NSX for the aggressive creases and angles that will define Honda performance cars going forward. You'll note, too, that the sketch includes provision for a folding hardtop (note the A-pillars), which has also been speculated on for the past several months. That supports the generally accepted theory that the car will compete against the Miata with a wider range of options and configurations.

2010 is probably too soon for the next S2000 - we would have seen spy shots of the car being tested by now. The next S2000 is not likely to be a simple restyle, since it will have to meet Honda's own ACE standards for pedestrian and occupant safety. That would require significant changes from the current car, including a higher hood and wider body.

With Honda's limited performance program resources focused on the new NSX, the 2012 timeframe seems more reasonable. The majority of Honda's technical resources are by necessity focused on perfecting new "green" technology for several different cars scheduled to appear over the next few years. So I would believe that the NSX engineers are probably being moved over to the S2000 program as they finish different stages of the NSX program. The NSX, as the Nurburgring photos demonstrate, has already finalized it's engineering and is well into the test phase. I'd expect a final engineering freeze later this year, tuning and test to complete next summer, and that means production 12 months later for the mid-2010 model year at the earliest (remember that the NSX has a brand-new engine and drivetrain).

The article in the Japanese press also mentions a ~286 HP 2.4 liter engine as well as a 3.5 liter V-6 for the next S2000. I find this disappointing (both are low-rev engines of no interest to enthusiasts), but it does support earlier speculation of both a Honda (4 cylinder) and an Acura (6 cylinder) variant of the basic product. Personally, I think that Honda's 4 cylinder engines are technically dated, and that their SOHC V-6 engine family is seriously dated. Both need a much more sophisticated valvetrain with independently variable camshaft timing, rather than the dependent phasing they use now. And they need direct injection, which is state of the art technology, and which would help with much-needed low-end torque as well as with mileage and emissions.

The Acura 2.3 liter turbo engine is the worst example of this entire issue. It produces limited HP and torque for it's size, and is known for it's terrible mileage. Compare this engine against comparable competitive 4-cylinder engines such as the GM 2 liter turbo (260/260 hp/torque) and the Mazda 2.3 MazdaSpeed (274/280) - with both engines growing to 300/xxx over the next two years. And note that the GM Turbo 2 liter gets better EPA mileage in the Solstice/Sky in direct-injected Turbo form than it does in port-injected naturally-aspirated form.

So while Honda leads the world in fuel-cell technology, I'd argue that their "big" (2 liter and up) gasoline engines are falling rapidly behind the curve. I'd hope for a remedy in this area to appear at the same time as the next S2000, and for the most prominent example of that engine to be be featured in the S2000 as it was in the original S2000 in 1999. 

 


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Wednesday, July 02, 2008  

 S2000 sales in June 2008 another disaster
 

Honda sold 273 S2000s in June 2008 - the lowest figure for June ever. This despite an overall record month for Honda.

The chart below shows sales since the beginning... the orange line at the bottom is 2008.

 A picture named s2000-sales_2008-06.jpg


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