let me start off by saying i love my s2k. ive always wanted one and worked my ass off to buy one. i like that you dont see them everywhere and people always give me compliments on how nice it is. but whenever i see a 03 mustang cobra i drool. i love the styling and the beastly sound and the snarl it has when u get on it. ive always said to myself you should have bought a cobra. but then remember why i didnt get one. my brother has a 03 gt and cars has so many problems and only has 80k miles. besides i see mustang all the time ( i know u dont see cobras but it's still a mustang).and the interior looks so plain. too me performance isn't the deciding factor when i was looking for a car.but i know that mainly one of the reason why people like cars like the cobra, ss, and other v8s because of the hp.so what i am asking is have any of you sold you s to buy the cars u consider buying before the s2k? did u regret it or were u happy with your decision. and when it comes to power which imho is the only thing the s2k seem lack (i'd like to be able to run a v8 down) dose it bother u guys knowing that there cars like the cobras even gt that can run you with ease or how you dont let it affect u because thats not the reason why u bought the car

 

After driving my roomates 400whp+ STi, I arrived at one immediate conclusion. Power alone will never make up for the lack of the 'experience'. Even being viciously faster (in most instances), I detested driving it in comparison.

 

I get those thoughts all the time, but quickly realize that all I have to do is go for a quick drive and know 100% that Ive made the right decision. Terminators are so sexxxy though.

 

I do not regret buying my s2000 at all. There is more to a car then just going fast.

 

I went from an '01 S2K to an '03 Z06. It was a great car (both, lol) but my '01 S2K had most of the classic warranty issues (e.g. tranny opened twice, every 8K miles). I looked hard at the '03 Terminator Mustang but it wasn't a "total package" like the Z06. The Mustang was almost as quick in a straight line and easy to modify to get faster. The cost difference wasn't as high as you'd think ($33K Mustang vs $46K paid for Z06) and Mustang insurance would have been about $800 a year more (!) so the Z06 was a better buy if you didn't need rear seats.

Anyway, I eventually came back to an '08 S2000 when I was single again (sold the Z06 because of SWMBO) so that tells you what I think of it. Honda hit a great balance of daily drivability and sports car. I wanted the 2.2L to rev like the 2.0L motor but the city driving benefit along with traction control, glass rear window, and suspension/tire changes made the '08 a better "every day" car.

 

The grass is always greener...

 

I still like the styling of the early 90's model saleen mustangs.

 

When I was in the market for a weekend car I was heavily favoring '03-'04 Cobras, and also looking at corvettes. I had been lurking on this forum on and off for a few years scoping out people's turbo builds/troubles and had decided a Cobra was just much more practical for a high horsepower street car. However i ended up buying a S2000 almost on a whim without so much as even test driving or sitting in one, and i am very pleased with it.

Sometimes as I'm planning for a turbo build that i hope to do next year, i find myself thinking "Man, i should have just got a termi." But as someone mentioned above, "the grass is always greener on the other side" and even if i end up just driving my S2000 around with only 175whp for a few years and then just selling it, i won't regret having owned it.

For what it's worth, i daily drive a Mustang and it has been good to me. At 150,000 miles and 15 years old nothing major has ever needed replacing. Cheap to fix, reliable, original clutch and convertible top. (Most of what you said about Mustangs holds true however)

 

It's fun taking an off ramp at double or more the suggested speed and seeing that cobra get farther behind you.
If i was so afraid of losing in a straight line race I'd be more smug with my cbr because not whole lot can touch it...
In any case, the s2000 and cobra dont seem to be in the same catagory...ever..
It sounds like more of a testosterone question worrying that 4 cylinders gets walked by 8 cylinders. Take your S to a track that includes turns and see what you think about it then

 

I'm not insecure about owning an S2000.

If I want to drive my car to it's limits, I'm taking the S to the track and I'm sure its all smiles, even if other high performance cars are out there lapping faster than you, I'm still having loads of fund with my torqueless wonder car