You could be forgiven for expecting the result to be a lumpy, awkward unit to drive but in reality it was as docile in everyday use as a basic Civic and was also able to meet the strict California emissions regulations. The result was a power output of 240 bhp which was achieved without turbocharger or supercharger but by adding the firm’s trick VTEC variable cam timing and letting it spin to a heady 9000rpm. The heart of the Honda S2000 was its engine: a 2-litre twin-cam four-cylinder into which the firm threw the total of its accumulated knowledge over its half-century of existence, with many of the design team taken from the F1 engine programme. When a company like Honda decides to build something special to shout about its 50 years in business then you know the result is going to be impressive and so it was when the wraps came off the S2000 in 1999.įresh on the heels of the technology showcase which was the NSX, the S2000 was in concept a kind of grown-up Mazda MX-5, taking that car’s back-to-basics approach but adding significantly more sophistication and nearly double the power output. Honda’s answer to the MX-5 wasn’t to join it but beat it into submission with its astonishing S2000, offering 240 bhp from a race-bred four-cylinder engine without a turbo in sight.
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