Honda press release on 06 S2000
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Honda press release on 06 S2000
Honda's New Face
S2000 gets a shot of adrenaline.
By Douglas Kott
Road & Track May 2005
After hearing news of a press conference that was to take place in Tokyo I figured it would be just another econo-fuel cell announcement for an urban box that Japan tends to market as a car. When I heard that Takeo Fukui was making the announcement (CEO of Honda), I figured this just might be worth listening to.
Apparently, I wasn't alone in my interest as Fukui managed to pack a conference room the size of a small city. In the center were two cars covered with silk sheets. My Japanese is a bit rusty so I'll cut to the chase. When he pulled the covers off, the room went silent. On the left was the rumored Honda S1000 that was making news as being a rival for the miata and economy convertibles that were planned for the upcoming market. On the right was the next generation Honda S2000 planned for realease as a 2006 model.
Ok ok, so it wasn't a huge leap forward for the S2000 by a lot. The style was basically the same and who wouldn't expect it to be after they just spent a boatload to redesign it for 2004. However, this roadster has not gone two years without having some sort of change made to it and Honda decided to stick true to their system. Keeping the market fresh I guess.
The late release was owed to the fact that Honda did not want sales numbers of the 2005 model year to drop in anticipation of the newer model. Why would anyone want to wait for the next year and not buy a 2005 now? Well, good thing you ask my friends. It just so happens that the 2.2l engine that was released in the American market was a base platform for something that Honda had been cooking up in secret.
For 2006, all models of the Honda S will have the 2.2l engine. But wait, there's more sports fans. The new engine will be turbo charged by Honda! Until now, Honda has been resisting the move to turbo on this car because of the naturally aspirated mystique that followed it. However, with preassure building from competitors like Mitsu and Subaru, 300hp four cylinders are a thing of now, not the future. To not be out done, Honda managed to squeeze out 302hp and 245lbft of torque out of a new two stage turbo system that they have been developing over the past 3 years. This same system will also be found in some of Honda's other products like the new Ridgeline. Of course, they will get a detuned version that sips gas.
Unfortunately, things have been sacrificed to make this progress. Gone are the days of "kick in the pants" Vtec transitions. Honda has lowered the engagement point so that the transition is seemless. This has been done to improve handling and keep the power band smooth. A kick from Vtec in a corner with 300hp can easily send you flying in a circle before you know it.
Also, since there was more power added, a few pounds of interior luxuries were decided as necessary. The top has been redesigned to fold into an automatic boot similar to the 350Z. The manual latches are still at the top, but gone is the need for the clumsy top boot that was never easy to install and often went the way of unwrapped accessories lodged in the garage forever.
Other than those two things, everything else is small. A few peices have been dressed up on the inside, but nothing too different from the current model. Of course, the Japanese will have their large selection of interior and exterior colors along with a alcantra option that won't hit the states. Navigation and VGS are also back in the game, but again only in Japan.
S2000 gets a shot of adrenaline.
By Douglas Kott
Road & Track May 2005
After hearing news of a press conference that was to take place in Tokyo I figured it would be just another econo-fuel cell announcement for an urban box that Japan tends to market as a car. When I heard that Takeo Fukui was making the announcement (CEO of Honda), I figured this just might be worth listening to.
Apparently, I wasn't alone in my interest as Fukui managed to pack a conference room the size of a small city. In the center were two cars covered with silk sheets. My Japanese is a bit rusty so I'll cut to the chase. When he pulled the covers off, the room went silent. On the left was the rumored Honda S1000 that was making news as being a rival for the miata and economy convertibles that were planned for the upcoming market. On the right was the next generation Honda S2000 planned for realease as a 2006 model.
Ok ok, so it wasn't a huge leap forward for the S2000 by a lot. The style was basically the same and who wouldn't expect it to be after they just spent a boatload to redesign it for 2004. However, this roadster has not gone two years without having some sort of change made to it and Honda decided to stick true to their system. Keeping the market fresh I guess.
The late release was owed to the fact that Honda did not want sales numbers of the 2005 model year to drop in anticipation of the newer model. Why would anyone want to wait for the next year and not buy a 2005 now? Well, good thing you ask my friends. It just so happens that the 2.2l engine that was released in the American market was a base platform for something that Honda had been cooking up in secret.
For 2006, all models of the Honda S will have the 2.2l engine. But wait, there's more sports fans. The new engine will be turbo charged by Honda! Until now, Honda has been resisting the move to turbo on this car because of the naturally aspirated mystique that followed it. However, with preassure building from competitors like Mitsu and Subaru, 300hp four cylinders are a thing of now, not the future. To not be out done, Honda managed to squeeze out 302hp and 245lbft of torque out of a new two stage turbo system that they have been developing over the past 3 years. This same system will also be found in some of Honda's other products like the new Ridgeline. Of course, they will get a detuned version that sips gas.
Unfortunately, things have been sacrificed to make this progress. Gone are the days of "kick in the pants" Vtec transitions. Honda has lowered the engagement point so that the transition is seemless. This has been done to improve handling and keep the power band smooth. A kick from Vtec in a corner with 300hp can easily send you flying in a circle before you know it.
Also, since there was more power added, a few pounds of interior luxuries were decided as necessary. The top has been redesigned to fold into an automatic boot similar to the 350Z. The manual latches are still at the top, but gone is the need for the clumsy top boot that was never easy to install and often went the way of unwrapped accessories lodged in the garage forever.
Other than those two things, everything else is small. A few peices have been dressed up on the inside, but nothing too different from the current model. Of course, the Japanese will have their large selection of interior and exterior colors along with a alcantra option that won't hit the states. Navigation and VGS are also back in the game, but again only in Japan.
! 
