Time machines do exist.
If you want to remember what was really quick - and state of the art - circa 1999, take a drive in an '08 Honda S2000. It hasn't changed much since then - which has its good points as well as its bad points.
It all depends on your perspective.
ENGINES & PERFORMANCE
In late 1999, when the first S2000s appeared, the 9,000 RPM capable 2.0 liter VTEC dual overhead cam four caused jaws to drop and hands to clap. The thing had a rev range like a 1,000 cc sport bike - and felt and sounded like one, too.
On the other hand, there was virtually no low speed torque - literally. Barely 100 lbs.-ft. under 3,000 RPM, in fact. It was therefore easy to stall the thing in traffic. But this only enhanced its exotic, race-car feel. Because once up in the power band - around 6,000 RPM - the thing came alive like a nest of angry yellow jackets. That was the point at which the variable cam/valve timing (very high tech stuff in '99) got Medieval, so to speak. The digital bar graph tach swept wildly past 8,000 and output spiked at a then-impressive 240 ponies.
Looked at in terms of power per liter of displacement, the S2000's teensy little four was making more hp than a Viper V-10. Put that kind of power in a featherweight (2,600 pounds or so) short-wheelbase rear wheel drive roadster and the resulting performance was exotic: Zero to 60 in about 5.5 seconds, with a top speed around 150 mph. Wow!
Fast forward eight years.
The '08 S2000's as quick as ever - but others have caught up. A Nissan 350Z is about as quick. So is a BMW Z4 roadster. A MazdaSpeed Miata will run with it, too. And these are just mid-pack performers, by the standards of 2008.
Get into a Mitsubishi EVO or Subaru WRX - both of which cost less than the $34,300 (to start) S2000 - and you'll get to 60 about a second sooner.
The bar has been raised.
In the Late Clinton Years, 240 horsepower from a 2 liter engine was almost supernatural. Today, the EVO supplies nearly 300 horsepower from 2 liters. Granted, turbos are involved - but still. The larger point is the S2000's no longer one of the meanest things going - at least in a straight line.
RIDE & HANDLING
Here's where the years have been much kinder to the S2000. It remains one of the best handling, no-BS, hard core performance roadsters you can buy - at any price. Especially the new CR (Club Racing) version, which is about 100 pounds lighter than the standard S2000 and receives a faster ratio steering box, chassis stiffeners, track-firm suspension calibrations (skip the coffee!) and super-sticky 45-series Bridgestone Potenza tires. These will not last long (there's a disclaimer on the side window advising you that reduced tread life is a fact of life with such tires) but you will have fun while they last!
Steering response is sharper than a Samurai's Katana sword; "cutting the corners" becomes just exactly that. There is no body roll at all. If you like 'em stiff, you will love the CR. As always, the car has a near-perfect 50-50 weight split. A Lotus or M3 BMW is the closest to it. But all play on the same level - and that is a serious compliment for a car whose basic design is so much older than either of those two. An EVO is similarly sharp, but its AWD layout gives a different feel under high-g cornering. If you enjoy being able to wag your tail every now and then, the rear-drive S2000's got what you want. It's not a Burnout Master due to the low torque output, but the wild side is still more accessible than it is in anything with AWD. And arguably, takes more skill to see things through on the knife edge of the car's grip. AWD lets you go a bit faster with less skill - and is there to save your bacon if you get in too deep. The S2000 is an expert's car. It can be extremely rewarding. But it can bite you, too.
Be careful.
STYLING & UTILITY
Classic roadster styling; long hood, compact passenger cabin - tight but. The CR version ($36,300) adds a body kit that includes integrated front chin spoiler and rocker panel extensions - plus a huge trunk-mounted airfoil. It's a functional piece (on the race track and at high speeds, it provides downforce to keep the tail end planted) but to my eye does not fit the car's lines at all. It's also the visual equivalent of rolling down the window at a traffic light and saying "oink oink!" to a cop. It makes them draw a bead on you - even if you're doing just exactly the speed limit. Anything over and you will be sweating if you pass Officer Friendly. He might ignore a Taurus doing 72 in a 65. He will not ignore you. I liked the CR's chassis enhancements (and manual removable hardtop) but I wish the airfoil came in the trunk, not on it.
The interior is minimalist but fits the car's single-purpose mission. Everything you need - nothing you don't. The digital dash is still basically the same as it was eight years ago. It is interesting, but a little dated. I'm not a huge fan of the bar graph tach layout. It is highly legible, but doesn't seem as immediately responsive an analog gauge.
Honda does provide a green up-shift light, however.
Two other areas where the S2000's age is showing: The race car-style push button starter was a Big Thing when the car was introduced. Today's push-button ignition is common - and keyless. The S2000's isn't. You first have to insert a physical key into the steering column - then you can push "start." Most '08 cars with push button ignitions simply require you to carry the keyless transmitter in your pocket or purse.
The other crickety thing is the S2000's ancient looking stereo. It says "aftermarket" - not OEM. Sound quality is mediocre, too.
Still, the S2000's cabin is much better laid out than, for example, the much newer-design Saturn Sky (and Pontiac Solstice), which have inaccessible switches for the power windows, a fuel gauge that's so deeply tunneled into the dash that it's sometimes impossible to read - and so much wind/road noise intruding into the cabin at highway speeds that you'd swear you were driving a '69 MG. There is a nice little cubby in the console; not huge - but enough for things like house keys, a cell phone and some pocket change. All the controls are no fuss. And the body integrity/sealing is still among the best on the market. It looks - and feels - like a quality piece.
QUALITY/SAFETY
See above on quality. The car is tight as a drum. Superb fit and finish; lots of attention to detail - examples of which include the soft suede inserts and contrast gold stitching on the door panels and seats of my tested CR model. (Honda will make just 1,500 of these, fyi.)
Though it lacks side or head/curtain air bags (another sign of the car's age) it has performed well in both government and insurance industry crash testing. Honda's VSA electronic traction/stability control system is standard. The track-worthy high-performance disc brakes (with ABS) add some proactive safety, too.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Despite a few signs of age, I still love the S2000. It's no longer one of the quickest performance roadsters or sport compacts out there, but it is raw and fierce and free of a lot of the (to me) stifling over-technology that is creeping like Kudzu into modern performance cars. The CR model I had for a week had an old fashioned hardtop (in place of the standard S2000's power soft-top) that you just unbolt and stow, easy-peasy Japaneesy. No electronic nanny running interference between you and the peaky little wasp of an engine. Switch off the VSA - and it is off - and stays off. (I have noticed that in more and more new cars, not only is the traction/stability control hard to turn off, if you do manage to shut it down, the damn thing will sometimes turn itself back on after a few minutes. Gotta think about the children, I guess.)
Like riding a sport bike, the few controls you need to access are literally at your fingertips. You have to reach for nothing. The short-throw six-speed manual is a joy to play with. There is no automatic transmission available - further testimony to this car's purity of purpose. Ditto the wonderful mechanical thrashing sounds of the VTEC four. Yeah, the stereo sucks. But who cares? You have better things to listen to in this car - and if you'd rather listen to tunes, then this is not the car for you anyhow.
THE BOTTOM LINE
There is still nothing like the S2000 - even eight years later. The Lotus Elise is similar, but its Toyota-sourced engine can't match the sweetness of the still-impressive Honda VTEC, especially as the thing gets "on the cam" beyond 6,000 RPM. A Porsche Boxster costs $10,000 more - to start. The Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice are very pretty cars - but seriously flawed from an ergonomic perspective and can't match the handling capability or quality feel and "put togetherness" of the Honda.
It won't - and probably can't - last much longer.
Enjoy it while it's still around.
END
