Here's what Mateja should have written. I guess ya gotta go to a real
newspaper.
http://www.nytimes.com/library/auto/wheels/991114auto.html
You may have to register with the Times, but it is free, and worth it.
Matt Murray
mailto:mattm@optonline.net
November 14, 1999
BEHIND THE WHEEL / 2000 Honda S2000
The Little Engine That Could
By JAMES G. COBB
Another roadster, you say? Ho-hum. Been there, drove that.
But hold your horsepower: Check out the Formula One-style
tachometer that arcs over the instrument displays of the Honda
S2000: The red line -- the limit of where the engine can safely
be run -- is just short of 9,000 revolutions per minute. That's
surely a mistake; only superbikes rev that fast. Doesn't the new
Ferrari Modena top out at 8,500 r.p.m.?
Glance at the interior. See the stubby six-speed
shifter topped by an egg-shaped aluminum
knob, the two bolstered sport seats that could hold
you tight during a liftoff at Cape Canaveral, the red
button marked "Start Engine" like one in a racecar.
Cast your eyes on the window sticker. It says that the engine is a
2-liter, dual-cam four cylinder and that it churns out as much
horsepower -- 240 -- as many big V8's. There are no factory
options. The delivered price is $32,415. Surely that's a typo.
In fact, your chances of getting an S2000 for 30-large are
probably not much better than winning the Lotto. Honda intends
to import just 5,000 roadsters a year, guaranteeing their
scarcity. And when dealers find themselves with a sizzling
product, strong demand and limited supplies, the list price
becomes about as revelant in a sales transaction as the mean
April rainfall in Peru.
But if ever there was a car over which one could grin while being
gouged, the S2000 might be it. In one tidy, top-down package, it
combines the simple pleasures of a Mazda Miata, the thrust of a
BMW M Roadster, the structural stiffness of a Corvette and the
tenacious grip of a Porsche Boxster. The engine is almost
impossibly powerful for its size. The brakes grab and hold like a
snapping turtle. The shifter and transmission are perhaps the
quickest and crispest in any street car anywhere. The driving
position is close to perfect, and the high-intensity projector
headlamps shine like the truth.
This is the first softtop Honda has sold in America. Except for
the $80,000 Acura NSX sports car, it is the first Honda since the
mid-1960's with rear drive, which purists consider essential in a
serious sports car. The S2000 weighs less than 2,800 pounds,
perfectly divided over front and rear.
Don't be deceived by appearances. The long, chiseled hood
and shovelnose face suggest performance, but the pert,
rounded rear makes the S2000 seem a little too cute, even with
dual exhausts so big they surely mean business. People who
obsess over cup holders and think of shifting as moving a lever
from P to D will not know what they are getting themselves into.
This is not a retro roadster, but a racecar in civilian clothes. The
S2000 makes you work a little; you must shift a lot around town,
though with this close-ratio transmission, that's more of a reward
than a chore. An automatic would ruin the experience, and
Honda will not even offer one.
Most surprising, while the S2000 is a howling wolf when pushed
hard, it behaves in stop-and-go driving like a docile greyhound
in obedience school.
All conversations about this car start and end with its engine.
Here is proof that Honda is, foremost, an engine company that
just happens to make cars, motorcycles and lawn mowers. It is
also a company with considerable success in racing, so it is no
surprise that the S2000, like the NSX, is packed with
track-tested technology.
Honda's forte is small engines with big power, and in this
respect, the S2000's in-line four -- not shared with any other car
-- sets a standard for the industry. The S2000 has more power
per liter than any normal-breathing production-car engine in the
world.
The engine also incorporates VTEC -- Honda's system of
variable valve timing and lift control, which guarantees the
optimal combustion of fuel and air regardless of engine speed.
It is a complex bit of engineering, but it works like magic,
delivering smooth power across a broad range of engine
speeds despite what seems, on paper, to be a lack of torque
(just 153 foot-pounds at a heady 7,500 r.p.m.).
In the case of the S2000, the magician has a split personality.
The VTEC's special set of camshaft lobes don't come into play
until the engine is revving past 6,000 r.p.m. The S2000 just
starts to roar at a point where many engines are gasping near
exhaustion.
The S2000 races from a standstill to 60 miles an hour in well
under 6 seconds, faster than a Boxster and about as quickly as
a Corvette. It can hit 150 m.p.h. on a racetrack. (Do not try this at
home.)
Oh, did I mention that it goes 28 miles on a gallon of premium
unleaded? Or that it meets Federal low-emission standards?
This remarkable engine rests on a frame that exploits its full
potential, one that is rigid even by the standards of closed-top
cars, whose roofs help to prevent the bodies from flexing.
Honda uses the high driveline tunnel as a backbone, like an
I-beam in a skyscraper. In a Miata or BMW Z3, if you speed
over a bumpy road or barrel over railroad tracks, the body
shakes like Little Richard's piano. The S2000 is unruffled.
With a structure so stiff, the independent suspension doesn't
have to compensate for twisting, so its various parts are tuned
for quick, precise handling. The electric steering is direct but
never twitchy. The car stays on course on the highway, and it
seems to ride invisible rails over serpentine roads, always flat
and under control.
Despite the smiles it elicits, the S2000 demands to be taken
seriously. Consider the lack of amenities: there is no clock, no
ashtray or lighter, no glovebox or door pockets, no shutoff for the
passenger's air bag. (Dealers can install one.) The stereo is fair
with the top up and poor with the top down. The ride is noisy.
There are a few gimmicks, like the start button you push after
turning the key. (Pity the non-English-speaking parking
attendant who couldn't figure this out, and resorted to pushing
the car out of its space and through a Manhattan garage.) And
although the radio controls are close -- behind a lid that jabbed
my knee when it was open -- Honda put a second set by the
driver's left hand. The video-game tachometer is fun; the big
digital speedometer is as good as they get.
All S2000's come with air-conditioning; cruise control; a stereo
with CD player; power windows, locks and mirrors; leather trim
and keyless entry. The power top zips down in just 6 seconds,
though the Miata's manual roof works just as well. Ask the
dealer to install a wind deflector behind the seats; it makes
open-air motoring more pleasant on chilly evenings.
The rear window is plastic, easily scratched, with no defroster
wiring.
Storage is lacking. Aside from a net in the passenger footwell,
there are just two inconvenient spaces for odds and ends. A
console is built into the rear wall at shoulder level -- don't even
think of rummaging there while driving -- and a tiny vertical
compartment is behind the driver's elbow. There is one cup
holder. The snap-on tonneau cover consumes much of the small
trunk.
The S2000 brings the roadster full circle. With the Miata, the
Japanese revived a British genre, which was then refined by the
Germans. With the S2000 -- and Toyota's coming MR2 Spyder
-- Japan is remaking the sports car, raising standards and
lowering prices. If roadsters can cure a midlife crisis, this may
be a good time to have one.
INSIDE TRACK: Take it out once and you'll drive it in your
dreams.
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