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Any of the above photos serve as a reminder for me that any car designed from the get go as a convertible will always look it's absolute best with the top down, including the S2000. If I were forced to run a hard top on my S2000 due to circumstances out of my control such as your wife's condition then the Honda OEM top would be the only one I would consider as it looks much better than any of the other hard top options to my eye. It's funny but I actually find JDMdoode's "vintage" photo much more visually pleasing. Maybe it's the difference between the chosen setting or maybe it's the blacked out A-pillars on JDMdoode's car.
Sadly while it seems like the S2000 is an ideal car for you Hertz Donut, it doesn't exactly sound like it's best one for you and your wife to enjoy together. My wife and I ended up with a S2000 because she wanted nothing to do with my motorcycles but loves riding in a convertible with the top down. (Sadly she is not quite so crazy about me revving the engine up anywhere near the redline.) Were she not a fan of convertibles, as much as I love the S2000 I would have likely chosen a different car for us to enjoy together. I've owned a couple of other convertibles in the past and the wind buffeting in the S2000 seems almost unnoticeable by comparison. The passenger cabin is incredibly calm. By comparison, in my past cars things would likely be blowing around in, and out of, the cabin area with the top down. I'm not sure how much of that can be attributed to the rear windscreen as I've always left it up. I'd imagine that the installation of an even taller screen would knock the amount of wind/buffeting in the cabin down even more. That might be something worth looking into.
I’m currently in New Zealand on my honeymoon touring your amazing country and I would not get a hard top regardless of how it looks. I can’t imagine driving those scenic roads in the South Island with the top up. I’m currently renting a Holden Trax (Chevy trax) and I think I told my wife once a day how I wish I had my S2000. If you need to spend money on one of these, get the hardtop so you can drive it in the winter when the top wouldn’t come down anyway.
PS. i think my wife hates when I talk about the car
PPS. I have never seen so many 1980s/90s Japanese cars in such great shape! It’s like I went back in time. It’s fantastic— wish I got to see more of these cars back home without them being in this condition.
I have a hardtop. I hardly ever use it. If you will use it, I recommend OEM. Especially if the value holding qualities are important. I honestly don't like those wheels - but, to each his own. If you like them buy them. My feeling is we all tend to spend money on stuff like this, me included, but the best approach is to leave it alone, maintain it, and drive the heck out of it.
Entertaining honeymoon repot HiPER. It's funny, last year while working our way back home from a beer festival via mass transit we met a couple from New Zealand. As soon as I found out where they were from I asked them if they were familiar with the late John Britten. This couple wasn't into motorcycling, but at that point it was suddenly like my wife and I were long lost family. We ended up exchanging information with them in case my wife and I were to ever make it over to NZ. Maybe some day...
BTW: For those who don't know who John Britten was, he's worth investigating even if motorcycles aren't your thing. A legend in the world of motorcycle racing — I'd guess that what he was able to accomplish as an individual with just a few friends working out of his own home is likely never to be repeated in the world of motorsport. His combination of ingenuity and drive were beyond remarkable. My wife dislikes motorcycles and at one point even she sat mesmerized watching a biography about Britten with me. I can only imagine what Soichiro must have thought of the man.
Hmm...maybe I could make some money on the side lending my car out to S2000 owners from overseas who miss their own.
The glory years of JDM cars are still very much alive and well here, the few survivors (relative to 10-15 years ago) are treasured more than ever. We've been importing from Japan since about the late '80s when our own car industry was destroyed by changes in government tariffs, meaning it was cheaper to import CBU cars from Japan than import CKD units and assemble here. We've had the likes of early Evos, WRXs, R3n Skylines and so on here since they were practically new. Coupled with roads Mr Regular described as "God's Bonus Track", we don't know how lucky we are.
If you're ever in the country, a Britten motorcycle is on display at Te Papa, the national museum in Wellington, or was last time I was there. It's quite the work of art even if you're not into bikes.
I let the auction on the wheels expire in the end and I'll hold off on the hardtop for now. If things get too much for my wife we'll just put up the soft top and see how she goes with that.
12-03-2018, 04:03 AM
