Concur. I had a choice between an '03 and '04 but liked the rawness of the '03 better so I bought it. I've come to view most of the "improvements" or "refinements" in succeeding model years as moves away from the classic nature of a sports car and appeal to enthusiasts to that of things placating the masses. No homogenization for me. I also don't buy the AP2 as being "faster." Its been beat to death and the differences are simply tied to engine output curves and gearing with each having strengths over different road courses. Any nutroot that thinks straight line is where the comparison should be made completely misses the fact that these cars are total packages that live for twisties. For me, I'll stick with the last of the 9k AP1s in the USofA.... MY03!

 

[QUOTE=negcamber,May 6 2009, 11:55 AM] The CR is the best s2k made IMO.

But looking at used cars, I'll modify Saki's statement at bit:

 

[QUOTE=Bob A (SD),May 6 2009, 12:09 PM] Concur.

 

04/05 FTW

 

I choose 02 because it had glass window, supposedly fixed some of the reliability problems of 00 and 01, a little bit of a better tune too. Also, the only year you can get all red interior!

 

Nope.... not the only year you were offered an all red interior. Here's my MY03 cockpit
which looks all red to me

 

It's all opinion - and everyone in here is going to say that their year is the best.

I like the 00/01 interior and exterior the best. The 00/01 had carpet center console pieces which looked more raw/racecar looking. The later years tried to "spice" everything up which is cool, but I just like the old style the best. I also like the ap1 exterior styling better so the 00/01 gets my vote for looks/feel.

The 04/05 have the better motor. The 9K revvers will say how cool it is to rev to 9000, but the truth of the matter is, the 2.2 motor makes more power where it counts. It'll make more power with modifications, and with a vafc, you can rev it to 8600 without breaking stuff. That's high enough.


My 2000 model S2000 is long gone, and I would love to have another one day - and I will buy an 04/05 and sell all the interior/exterior styling and convert it to look like the 00/01, plus have a ton of money left over to put towards suspension and wheels.

 

Not to belabor a point but this "claim" is again out of context. You mentioned shift points which differ between the AP1 and AP2. Take that difference on different tracks with different amounts of turns and straightaways and you'll get different results: some will have the AP1 consistently turning lower circuit times, others it'll be the AP2. So again neither is the inherently "fastest."

But I do certainly prefer the visceral roar of the 9k top end in my S2K with wide open Skunk2 Racing exhausts

 

Let me clarify.. only year to get all red in a black or white car in the USA.

 

No doubt about it.

//THREAD.