Honda S2000 Blog

Yesterday, Honda officially announced that it will stop production of the Honda s2000 roadster at the end of the 2009 production run. Honda had already announced it would stop R&D on the s2000 and NSX successors, so this marks a (hopefully temporary) end to Honda sports cars.

10 years is a really long run for a car that’s remained largely unchanged since its debut. Since 1999, there’s only been a few changes, most notably the 2.2L engine and front/rear bumpers in the 2004 AP2, and the Club Racer version in 2008. But other than that and a few dash, wheel and control changes, the s2000 stayed the same for longer than most, and I think the descision to end the run is justified. Not to mention, the end of production will help make the car a bit more special. Only about 65,000 were sold over the past 10 years in the United States (110,000 worldwide).

Hopefully when the economy kicks back up and people are looking to spend money on sports cars again, Honda will introduce another s2k-like car and stay true to its racing heritage.

Honda

With the recent news that Honda has ended R&D on the V8 NSX revision, comes more news from a British magazine, that Honda is also cancelling its work on the CR-Z convertible and not going to persue replacing the Honda s2000 in the near future.

The s2000 has never been a money maker for Honda, but it’s remained in the lineup as an example of fine craftsmanship from the company and a tribute to its long racing heritage. However, with a sliding economy that is hurting not only domestic, but foreign auto manufacturers alike, Honda is scaling back R&D for its sports cars in favor of fuel efficient and hybrid models that will be marketable for people looking to save, not splurge.

I for one wouldn’t mind much if Honda didn’t succeed the s2000, simply because it would make the car more of a classic instead of just being an older model that I would be reminded of every time I saw the new one. I’m sure if this rumor is true and Honda really is stopping R&D on these cars, that they will pick it back up sometime down the line. After all, it’s in their blood.

Honda, R&D