Hello there S2000 owners! I'm not an owner like you, although I do appreciate the S2000 for the very nice vehicle that it is... I just needed a very fun and great handling FWD car for all seasons, which is why I bought a MINI Cooper S. Different design, different pros and cons, I'm not trying to put down the S2000 at all!

But anyway - the reason I am writing here: This past weekend (May 5-8) I was at the annual "MINIs on the Dragon" event at the Tail of the Dragon (U.S. 129) in Deal's Gap, NC. While I was there, I met a really friendly gentleman in a light blue S2000 (sorry, I'm not familiar with the exact S2000 color names), who had a camera mounted on the front of his car with a suction-cup type device. He was following a few sport bikers on the Dragon, and I met up with him at one end (Tabcat Bridge). After some chit-chat (he said he has friends who are sport bikers and also friends with MINIs), he decided to follow me on the Dragon...

What followed was at least 4 or 5 miles of the Dragon without any obstruction... I was driving at 10/10, with my (engine, brakes & suspension upgraded) MCS. He followed me, although he fell a little behind a few times, he did manage to catch up. Needless to say, I want the footage from that video!

At the end of the run (we ran into slow traffic half way through), he stopped to meet with us for lunch at Deal's Gap. Really nice guy, very complimentary too (apparently he said our run was the most difficult time he'd ever had keeping up with a MINI). I just regret not actually getting his email & other details then and there - I stupidly thought that I would catch up with him later over the weekend, but it never happened.

Apparently, he's from Bloomington, IL. I'm hoping that one of you fellow S2000 enthusiasts knows the guy and can help me get in touch with him. I really appreciate it!

Side note: Before any of you decry my "full tilt" run on the Dragon, I can confirm that I didn't cross the double yellow lines even once, a fact confirmed by the S2000 gentleman himself during the lunch. I'm very strict about that rule when driving a curvy (and dangerous) road like the Dragon.

UPDATE: Killboy.com has pictures of him in his car! PLEASE advise if you have any more clues after looking at them:

Blue S2K with camera at the Dragon - shot 1
Blue S2K with camera at the Dragon - shot 2
Blue S2K at the Dragon - shot 3 (sans camera)
Blue S2K at the Dragon - shot 4 (sans camera)
Blue S2K at the Dragon - shot 5
Blue S2K with camera at the Dragon - shot 6
Blue S2K with camera at the Dragon - shot 7
Shot of my MINI with S2K right behind it!

UPDATE #2: Mystery S2000 owner found! See post at end for details.

 

Free bump for you

This may be in vain unless the s2000 owner told you he spends time on here. There are quite a few owners that don't frequent this site.

Good luck finding him, and nice car. Mini's always seemed to be in a "Fun to Drive Always" category, gotta respect that.

 

Thanks AZDelt... and you're right, the MINI is enormous "fun" to drive.

I do recall this gentleman saying that he did check the boards occassionally but not often, so there's hope yet. I especially hoped that the fact he was from Bloomington, Illinois would trigger something!

 

Edge ... you might want to post in the "Upper Mid-West" forum that is further down. He might frequent that forum or someone there may know of him.

Good luck.

 

Try posting here Its the Upper Midwest Regional forum - you might have better luck

 

Thanks for the advice, guys... I just did that.

 

BUMP... due to addition of photos of the gentleman, thanks to Killboy.com. (See first post for links to pics)

 

Bump: Updated with one more picture, with my MINI and the S2K behind it.

 

I FOUND HIM! It turns out that while at the Dragon he was sharing a cabin with a fellow MINI owner, who read my story on the MINI forums (North American Motoring, a.k.a. NAM), and passed the word along.

He has offered to send me a DVD, so I should have it soon! Provided he has no objections, I will be very happy to post a digitized copy of the video here, for you too enjoy. Even though it will only feature a MINI, you can all take solace in the fact it was filmed from an S2000.

Thanks to all who read and either replied or PMed me, I appreciate the help & moral support.