Honda's dearth of sports cars of late could be coming to an end later in the decade, as a replacement for its beloved S2000 is rumored to be in the works. According to a report in Auto Express, Honda is considering building a replacement for the late, great, 10Best-winning S2000, which was sold from 2000–2009. The idea is to split the difference between the recently green-lighted (but likely not for U.S. consumption) S660 and the much-ballyhooed and Acura-branded NSX.
Like those other two sports cars—but unlike the original S2000—the new S2000′s powertrain would be located amidships, behind the passengers. According to AE's report, the car could also be offered initially only as a coupe; the original came in roadster form only. Furthermore, the successor to the rev-happy roadster could be a . . . hybrid.
Before you Honda fans grab those clichéd pitchforks, consider that the sports car's expected powertrain is an electronically boosted 2.0-liter turbo four from the next-gen Civic Type R. If this holds true, the resurrected S2000 could have 300 horsepower before electrification is factored into the equation, and 350 ponies when it is. That sounds a lot more interesting than the original S2000′s 240 horsepower and paltry 162 lb-ft of torque, although we doubt it could match the original's naturally aspirated four for character. Or it might—we sampled Honda's new turbo four in a prototype and discovered it was capable of spinning to 7000 rpm—close to the 2004-and-later S2000's sky-high 8000-rpm redline.
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At the end of the day, this so-called S2000 replacement could be seen as less of a successor to the S2000 and more a replacement for the original NSX, which was sold as a Honda everywhere else in the world but here. That car never made more than 290 horsepower, even by the time it was discontinued in 2005 when 290 ponies was starting to become small potatoes. Regardless of how the S2000 replacement is viewed, we're all for more affordable sports cars populating the world. If this latest Honda effort indeed comes to fruition, 2017 is the earliest we can expect it to arrive.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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