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2006 Honda S2000 Road Test

The Original Banzai Roadster

Theres much to admire about the Japanese and their precision. Youve just gotta love the swords, the high-tech electronics and even the cuisine. I mean, who else would dare eat a fish that, if not prepared properly, is spiked to the gills with lethal neurotoxins? It would have to be the same people responsible for creating the S2000, a car that was built on the cornerstone of precision, and a vehicle designed to celebrate the storied companys 50th anniversary.

Since the very start, the S2000 has been an edgy looking vehicle, and to this day it still hasnt aged a bit. Compared to pre-facelift models, the nose has a set of extra gills on the wide front intake, and the headlamps gain projector-lens HID headlamps. There are more changes to be
There are few cars that can rival the S2000 in terms of looks or sheer specific engine output. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
found at the aft end of the car; the twin exhaust pipes have been squashed from circles to ovals, the tail lamps have been packed with glistening LEDs, and the bumper has been restyled with a fake diffuser to make it look closer to the ground. Also new are ten-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels. The steely-gray-silver test car also featured the optional ground effects body kit which adds a touch of street racer, a look that I indulge
Its here, there and everywhere on the inside. But one thing it isnt is roomy. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
in every now and then. On the down side, it gives an already low car the ground clearance of a cigarette package, rubbing up against almost everything that isnt road surface (and even then the nose touches ground often).

Stepping into the S2000 out of a conventional car requires much wriggling and squeezing before youre able to strap on the seatbelt. Its a kind of pre-selection process made by the car - not everyones going to fit. In fact, it isnt for most people that arent between 56" and
Everything important is no further than a couple of inches away to the drivers right or left hand. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
511". The steering wheel adjusts neither for reach or rake, and it doesnt help that it essentially sits in your lap. The seats adjust fore and aft with tilt and no height, plus the range of motion is limited by the rear bulkhead. Its hard to think of a tighter car on the market and this is even after Honda scooped out the door panels to free up extra shoulder and hip room.

Even if you dont fit in, the S2000s interior is at the very least interesting to look at. Everything is intently focused around the driver, such as the climate
Body kit is a little... well, bold. But the S2000 can wear it without embarrassment. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
control and stereo interfaces, which are housed in little pods around the instrument cluster. Theres a little head unit, housed behind an aluminum-look drawer, but best leave it shut as its dated-looking, awkward to operate and has tiny little buttons. The frisbee-sized steering wheel is every bit as wonderful to palm as it is comedic to look at, and the digital instruments, while garishly illuminated in amber and green are effective at communicating the cars vitals. Theres even an extra cupholder in the console under a sliding lid, but leave the Starbucks at Starbucks. This is a car that deserves your
Even though the engines displacement has gone up and rev limit dropped, the S2000 is still a wild, wild machine. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
attention.

With the roof up, it is cramped, but the solution is no more difficult than removing the latches and then thumbing the stubby switch on the console. No more than ten seconds later (while in neutral) the roof is tucked away, albeit still exposed; a soft tonneau cover must be manually put in place. With the roof down, the S2000 is a snug place, and one thats not particularly blustery thanks to the deep inset cabin and built-in wind deflector.
In the S2000, theres a certain moment when the world around you stops turning, and that moment has everything to do with whats under the hood. Every motor has a
That digital tach has changed a bit at the redline... (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
certain character. Big block V8s pulse and throb, V12s waft on a cloud of silky smoothness and inline-fives warble. Superchargers deliver instantaneous punch accompanied by their shrill whine. Turbos hiss, and when they dont lag, provide insatiable boost. Rotaries rev, rev and rev - and on the odd occasion, sound like a washing machine with a spun bearing. High performance Honda VTEC engines are just plain manic (and they like to rev too).

Mind you, since 2004 the S2000 hasnt been as crazy, as North Americans found the bipolar nature of the first 2.0-liter I-4 more irritating than pleasurable. So, for our market the cars engine has been heavily reworked to cater to our tastes, while the rest of the planet carries on with the original
Twist the key and nothing happens. Its the big red starter button that brings things to life. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
engine. Total displacement has been increased from 1,997 cc to 2,157 cc by lengthening the stroke, the vertical distance the piston travels in the cylinder. This is also accompanied by a slight increase in the engines compression ratio from 11.0:1 to 11.1:1. Hondas best engineers also remapped the VTEC system to make the transition between the camshaft profiles a little bit gentler, but no less memorable.

With all of that work, the performance gains on paper seem too sparse, almost to the level of disappointment. Power hasnt gone up at all - not even by a single unit - and torque has only risen by nine pound feet, to 162 lb-ft from 153. Surface numbers are hardly the end-all to the story of the S2000s new engine, because theres a lot more thats happened
The engine is flexible enough to cruise or to take to work every day (hint, hint). (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
underneath. The main reason why the bigger-engined S2000 doesnt make even more horsepower is because its VTEC system has been optimized for a broader distribution of the torque it makes. Between 1,000 and 8,000 rpm theres more grunt on tap, somewhere between four and ten percent. That doesnt seem like much, but it helps quite a bit.

The downside is that the little four can no longer pretend that its a motorcycle engine. The greater distance that the pistons have to travel means that it now redlines at 8,200 rpm, which is down from the riotous 9,000 rpm that it used to be limited to. Just to toss a couple of numbers to deepen those facts, the new 8,200 rpm redline is 100 rpm less than the old motors peak performance, and its now far off the mark of Mazdas Rotary-powered RX-8. Even the big, brawny 4.2-liter Audi
Summers serenity is shattered by the thrash-metal of the VTECs scream... (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)
FSI-V8 can rev up to 8,250 rpm.

To this, I must say: so what. I dont mind because the updated S2000 hits the nail right on the head in terms of making the car more livable on a day-to-day basis. On the low profile cam, the S2000 delivers the same kind of power that can be found in a four-cylinder Accord rather than out of the Fit; its relatively linear, if a tad unexciting. Theres more to be heard and felt though, so youre well aware of whats under the hood. The big difference can be felt when doing lane-changes or when passing, where the engine feels more responsive and more alive. Downshifting is still a fact of life in the S2000 because its power band is narrow, but at least theres less need to do so. And when downshifting occurs theres less of a wait for the engines revs to rise.
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