The S2K is not the same class or meant to be what the FRS/BRZ is. I think the RSX-S was but it wasn't as polished as Honda could have made it. The Civic Si is close but not close enough. Either a Type R variant of the Civic or a new sport focused RSX would work to compete against the FRS/BRZ (hell, bring back the Prelude!). I really still don't see the S2K being a competitor in regards to the point/meaning of the car. The S2K has more power, is convertible and drives differently. And while I would like to see a new S2000, I don't want to see it 'lowered' in certain areas to match the supposed competition. The S2K wasn't a huge seller to begin with and bringing it back wouldn't necessarily be a smart thing to do. Start new or overhaul something that is popular (like the Si or a Type S platform) and go from there.

 

Agreed!

 

I would prefer the new S2000 to have some type of breathing apparatus and a warmer heater for deep space travel. The soft top is too noisy leaving the atmosphere.

 

One of things I loved about driving and owning my S was that it was exclusively a manual transmission. In all honesty, Honda should have made automatic versions as well. If they did, the could have expanded their market considerably. I know I know, the S was already labeled a chick car by others, and having an auto version would have increased that image a lot, but chances are the platform would have evolved and would still be current, like Mazda with the Miata.

 

The production tooling for the S2000 was never designed for high volume. Honda knew the niche going into the project. They never intended the car to be a Miata. At $34K a noisy bare-bones roadster doesn't have broad appeal, automatic transmission or not. The S2000 was for Lotus fans who wanted Honda reliability and a slightly more civilized platform at a lower price.

 

You mean I've set a trend of backing up my opinions with facts? Thanks! I know I'm somewhat of a unicorn around here but the recognition is nice every once in a while.

I think the FR-S is a great car, and have said so already. I was (and am) merely pointing out that declaring it a "success" (from a sales standpoint) is very premature. Honda sold 100 CR-Zs per day for the first week. Whoopdy-doo! As I said, let's see how it sells over the first year or two and then we'll declare it a sales success.

There's not a doubt in my mind that it's a design success and a great car.

 

Your S50 also wouldn't meet the current emissions requirements and the car it's sitting in wouldn't meet crash standards. You have a lightweight, powerful car that wouldn't be legal today, so it's somewhat difficult to draw a comparison.

I like the rest of your thinking, though! We know Honda fitted a J35 in an S2000 already and I know others have done it as well, so the idea is sound. Put forged internals in it, rev it higher and watch it dominate. A 3000 lb S3500 with 350 hp would have similar power-to-weight as a Mustang GT (slightly better, in fact) with the better handling/response that generally comes with lighter weight.

 

IMO the S2000 was the swan song of Honda engineers who wanted to do something cool before corporate clamped down, it was never about a target audience which is why it is so uncompromising and frankly, cool. You can bet it wasn't the engineering team that kept restarting the NSX replacement projects.

The BRZ is a fully-backed corporate effort, and I think we have the IS-F team to thank for that. They got Toyota corporate thinking And realizing that while it's a small market, sports cars are overly influential and can sell even in tough economic times.

 

Nope, my S50 doesn't even have cats so it certainly wouldn't meet emissions. And about those crash standards...

And yep, the J35/J37 with forged internals and higher rev limit would be monstrous. S3500 would be a sexy, sexy car. Price-tag of $40k? Game over.