Ha, then you'd have a M3 vert minus the luxury touches

 

John,

I honestly don't think Honda was / is the slightest bit concerned about making the S2000 be palatable to a wide audience. The car was designed with single-minded intent, and arguably remains so.

The car also represented a technological showplace in 1999/2000, and until Honda has some major new stuff they want to exhibit, don't expect major changes.

 

Make a type-r engine that made about 270 hp, lighter weight with more aluminum, make certain things optional like manual top, no ac, no power equipment (like doors, windows), optional cloth seats, etc.

 

alot of the aspects you stated you wanted are fixed with aftermarket tuning, more power, tune it.....lower it, stiffen it, better brakes. The only thing i think the s2k is lacking is that the frame is not all alum, thats something i think they should have done.

 

Why would honda try and compete in the m3 market.

also, if you want an m3. why dont you go buy one?

the s2000 is one of the last nimble rwd cars left. I wouldnt want to ruin it buy making it into a different car. in fact i would rather see honda make a car that is more nimble.

I would be more interested in knowing if poeple would buy a 2000lb "s2000" with a 1.6 liter engine than if they would buy a bigger one.

 

True, a lot of that can be done with aftermarket tuning (mostly FI). I guess the question is more along the lines of whether you are willing to pay the extra bucks to Honda for those upgrades to come from the factory and to stay NA, with the sacrifice that the car will weigh heavier and a tad cost more, without stepping all the way up to NSX's price tag.

Personally, I think those specs are somewhat do-able by Honda now with a mid 40K price. Honda can, more or less, shove in a bigger engine (well, maybe it pumps around 300bhp or a little less, instead of 335bhp), which shouldn't cost that much more expensive to produce (simply looking at IS350, and all those monstrous engines made by other manufacturers).

In this case, the biggest sacrifice is the weight, because I'm pretending that it's not another NSX with an all aluminum body and lighter components -- that body itself will simply jack the price up a nice few 10grands.

As for the brakes, perhaps they aren't "crappy," but they definitely have quite a lot of room for improvement. I think the brakes on the S don't feel that weak is just because the car is relatively light, with less inertia. But when stacked up against other cars with nicer brakes (i.e. C55, M330i) , the braking feel and fade are less than desireable on the S. It just amazes me that Honda is offering Brembo brakes on the Acura TL, but on the S2000.

 

I have been reading the S2000 book...well, re-reading it actually...and I would have to say that your definition of an "AP3" wouldn't even come close to the practical concept for the S2000.

So, no.

 

Want to know a funny thing? I went to the Lotus dealership and the guy their told me that the power windows actually weigh LESS than the manual windows. strange...

 

This is true, there are numerous topics on exige and elise forums that prove this. ...if only all cars wre built with the fanatical focus on weight reduction that lotuses are.

 

I'm more of an AP1 fan than AP2 personally. Therefore, the only NEW S2000 I'd consider buying is any "Type-R" that Honda put out.