Behind firmly closed doors in Japan, Honda continues to work on a possible S2000 successor. But with a twist: the new version, if approved, will have four seats and shift upmarket toward a more affluent SLK-type audience.
While the S2000 has had its fans, and that brilliant 2.0-liter screamer of a four-cylinder is almost worth the price of admission alone, overall it’s been too raw and hardcore of a package to deliver the kind of sales that Honda originally hoped for.
So now it’s rethink time, and a new mock-up is underway according to a source familiar with the program. Critically, the car has not yet been approved for production, and even if Honda management gives the green light soon, the new sportster is at least two to three years away. This gibes with earlier reports that peg the car’s successor as not coming to market before 2009.
While it’s still in the car’s very early days, our source says we can expect: A) rear-wheel drive B) an altogether less raucous mechanical package than today’s S2000 and C) a car that looks totally different than the current model.
If it sees the light of day, it’s up for debate whether the car would sell as a Honda or Acura.
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