Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - It's Official: Honda Announces the End of the Most Amazing Roadster Ever Produced

AK370Z · 01-30-2009, 11:26 PM

Quote:

We've heard rumors about this for a long time and we all knew it was going to happen sooner or later, it's now official, Honda will stop production of the S2000 in June (2009).

I'm very sad to hear this... First produced in 1999, The 10 year old S2000 Roadster started showing it's age, but we all dreamed of a new and more powerful engine... The four cylinder natural aspirated engine V-TEC (2.2l since 2005) was a wonder and I enjoyed my self each time I drove one of Honda’s S2000 press cars, kicking in the V-TEC and keeping it high in rev for greater pleasure.

This reminds me of a wonderful time we had with another notorious French motor journalist (hi Cyril). Last year we fought on the mountainous roads of Nikko testing both the S2000 and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster.  Definitely outperformed on straight aways by the V8 Vantage, the S2000 was way more agile and fun to drive on curves

Farewell my dear friend, I will miss you and even if I wished Honda would give you a second chance with a more powerful engine, you were, like the NSX, a great and fun car to drive.

January 27, 2009-Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced that it will discontinue production of the S2000 sports car. The production for all regions will conclude by the end of June 2009.

The S2000 made its debut in 1999, as a genuine open FR sports car with what was at the time the world's top level, high performance 4-cylinder normally aspirated engine and an ideal 50:50 front/rear body weight distribution that provided a "fun to drive" spirit and the "joy of driving". In addition to dynamic performance, S2000 had environmental responsibility and the world's top level crash safety represented by an exhaust gas level that was more than 50 percent lower than the emission regulations value at that time and adoption of a newly developed body frame for an open structure that achieved the same level crashworthiness as a closed body vehicle. The S2000 continued to evolve, with performance improvements including VGS (Variable Gear ratio Steering), change of tire size and increased displacement. As a result, the S2000 achieved total sales of more than 20,000 units in Japan, and total worldwide sales of more than 110,000* units during the nine years it was in production.
* as of the end of December 2008

It's Official: Honda Announces the End of the Most Amazing Roadster Ever Produced in Japan : Nihon Car .com