Yeeee-Haaaaaaw – We drop the top on Honda's Screamin' S2000
Jed Hunter, MBA2
Issue date: 11/11/02 Section: Automotive
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You take her for a drive - ahhh but she's different than she looks, she's better, and you like it. Your relationship is picking up steam now, as you round third base you brave 6000 rpms, the VTEC improves her breathing, her tuned twin-pipe voice sings to you the siren's song. You cannot help it, just as the digital tach arches into her 9000-rpm peak you release a scream – "I love you." The ball just cleared the fences and you're headed for home now as you ask her to marry you. The best part? Just like a marriage, the more you practice the better it gets, and as long as you pick the right girl for you, the relationship only gets better with age.
Built to commemorate Honda's 50th anniversary the S2000 debuted back in 1995 as the SSM prototype. By the time the S2000 we know today joined the increasingly competitive $30-$40K roadster class the SSM had lost a cylinder (5 to 4), but had essentially remained true to Honda's initial positioning. The S2000's chief engineer, the same tour de force that created the NSX, had fashioned an, exhilarating, high-revving, affordable showcase of Honda's worldwide racing expertise made available in limited numbers for use carving up public roads.
The S2000 is not the girl for everyone. Despite the fact they are manufactured right next door to each other at Honda's Tochigi facility in Japan, the NSX is a flawless example of all that money can buy you, with all aluminum construction, titanium engine components, a luxurious yet functional cockpit, and supercar performance. The S2000 is a loud, opinionated, purpose oriented performance machine that is systemically void of ancillary distractions but is out there, like the smart girl from the poor but proud family, fighting for every accolade and victory she receives.
The interior of the S2000 is a study in simplicity. The dash is completely barren of knobs, switches, vents and the like (even the stereo has a damped switchplate cover), in favor of two small pods offering finger-tip access to the driver for all climate and stereo controls as well as the infamous Engine Start button. The tall doors and low seating position create a very intimate feel. The digital, but not gaudy, gage cluster is literally designed to save space on a relatively small dashboard, allowing the driver an even less obstructed view out over the enormously long aluminum hood. The encapsulated seating position works well with a small plexi-glass wind buffer to provide fairly comfortable open air motoring – not to mention Honda's special "top-down" heater setting proved the skeptic in me wrong on more than one early morning jaunt through the twisties on Huron River Road.
The soul of the S2000 lies between the axels. The engine is mated to a - new for 2002 - smoother and quieter 6-speed manual, which I will say is the best I have ever had the pleasure of shifting. In a valiant effort to create a front engine/rear drive car with 50/50 weight distribution and to reduce the deceptively important polar moment of inertia (in simple terms the "resistance to turn") the Honda engineers snugly tucked the entire 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder engine aft of the front axle. The engine employs an aluminum block with carbon fiber reinforced cylinder walls and lightweight connecting rods coupled with improved breathing complements of VTEC variable intake/exhaust valve timing to whip up 9000 furious revolutions per minute that result in a production car record setting 120 hp per normally aspirated liter (240 hp total at 8,300 rpm).
The real strength of the S2000 may initially appear to be her powertrain – and don't get me wrong – as noted above it is truly world class – but in time you grow to the smart girl handling rather than the brazen Gold's Gym muscle queen. The extremely rigid steel chassis with monocoque body and tall firewalls combine with 4-wheel double-wishbone coil-spring suspension, 11 inch disc brakes on all four corners, novel electric-assist power steering, and form fitting Recaro seats to give perfect feedback and response to your every driving demand. The tires (P205/55 R16s front & P225/50 R16s rear) are absolutely perfect for the car. They may seem small for a roadster this powerful, but in reality they are acutely matched to its limits. The front end understeers just an instant before the back drifts into oversteer – bigger tires and the entire predictability of the balance would be at risk. The electric power steering also deserves special note – it delivers appropriate feedback and response and, as Kevin explained to me, serves to save up to 5% of engine power due to pumping losses in conventional pneumatic or hydraulic power assist systems.
Complaints, there are few, in fact my biggest concern was resolved for 2002 by the addition of a glass rear window with defroster. While the torque, a mere 153 lb-ft @7500 rpm, is perfectly capable at speed, if burning rubber off the line is your thing, the S2000 is not for you. I found the chassis beam protruding from the floor of the passenger foot well annoying, the stereo still looks like an after thought and it sounds equally as bad in spite of a reported upgrade for 2002. I did get a couple snide catcalls noting my "Nice Jap Car" and not so politely suggesting I get a "real car". Then again – as Kevin said – I have to question the source when it's frat boys in a '92 Jimmy.
And finally, Kev and I agree, it takes a special person to live with this girl as a daily driver. Snow tires would be a classic move but I still think at a mere 2800 rear-drive pounds you are in for trouble should you pick a fight with some snow. Note, a hard top is available, and the car is perfectly compliant around town, but the noise of the motor, and the eventually frustration you will experience being confined in traffic while you're yearning to ring her out at every turn may prove acceptable to only the purest of high-rev-motor-heads.
So what's my take? True, the days of $5,000 "wheel coatings", $3000 "speaker upgrades" or just plain blatant "market premiums" are probably over, but now guess what? You can actually get your own copy of the scant 12,000 worldwide production units with "all" options (note there are no options available) at, or if your really good, even below the sticker price $32,600. It's not the lazy day cruiser or cross-generational head turner to which the T-Bird lays market claim. But if you are looking for a girl, who knows her core competencies, has a burr in her saddle, a fire in her eye, wants to push you to be a better street racer every day of your relationship, and of course, is willing to put her top down in less than six seconds – then the S2000 is your stunning soul mate – and a reasonably affordable one at that.
Special thanks to Jodi Opdyke at Honda and Pete Olsen at Ford for allowing us date these two beautiful and impressive ladies – if only for a week. We truly appreciate your ongoing support of the Monroe Street Journal and University of Michigan Business School. Thanks!
