The first production cars from the Japanese manufacturer Honda are the T360 mini pickup truck and the S500 sports car. The latter was typically a four-wheeled motorcycle with a two-seat cab, diminutive proportions and a high-speed motorcycle engine capable of turning at 9,000 rpm.
But as the automaker shifted its priorities from making sports cars to more practical, family-friendly transportation like the Civic and Accord in the early 1970s, thoroughbred Honda fans clamored for a return of the famous S model, especially after having tasted it. Honda NSX and Acura Integra Type R in the 1990s.
It took Honda more than thirty years to resurrect its legendary S nameplate. Introduced in 2000 (1999 in Japan) to celebrate 50 years of the automakerth anniversary, the S2000 entered the fray with similar attributes to the S500. It has a two-seat cockpit, a long nose, rear-wheel drive, a convertible top, and a spinning engine unlike any gas-powered internal combustion power plant the world has ever seen.
Honda S2000 F20C Engine – The Best Honda Engine Ever Made?
The S2000’s new F20C inline-four engine produces 124 horsepower per liter while revving to a redline of 9,000 rpm. It had the highest specific horsepower of any mass-produced engine until the Ferrari 458 entered the fray in 2010. The S2000 has 234 horsepower and 161 pound-feet of torque, all fed to the rear wheels with a of the best six-speed manual gearboxes on the market and a Torsen limited slip differential.
Honda engineers went the extra mile to make the F20C rev like crazy without messing up its guts. It has an aluminum block with fiber-reinforced metal cylinder liners housing forged aluminum pistons and a forged steel crankshaft with five center bearings. It also has a single-valve spring design, 25.5-degree narrow-angle intake and exhaust valves, and a high-tension VTEC valve train with coaxial rocker arms to reduce friction of the valve train. The real fun begins when the engine hits 5,850 rpm when the VTEC valvetrain goes into high-lift mode.
Honda F22C1 – More low-end torque
The Honda S2000’s F20C engine was great, but Americans were initially disgusted by its lack of low-end torque. Because the F20C had to turn its guts to produce power and torque, V8 drivers with mountains of low-end grunt fell in love with the Honda S2000. Honda took this to heart and introduced the facelifted S2000 AP2 variant in 2004. The most significant change is a new engine, the F22C1, with a displacement of 2.2 liters.
The F22C1 has a 90.7mm longer stroke, reconfigured camshafts, a higher 11.1:1 compression ratio and a slightly lower 8,000rpm redline. In addition, the VTEC kicks in at 6,000 rpm, with 10% more torque starting at 2,500 rpm despite having the same power output as the F20C.
Production of the Honda S2000 ended in 2009, and the automaker is expected to launch or introduce a predecessor. The F20C and F22C are known to guzzle oil after a long track session, and the S2000 isn’t the most comfortable sports car for long road trips. However, all the demerits don’t matter to S2000 fans, who drive prices through the roof annually. According to Classic, you need between $28,000 and $30,000 to own a mint Honda S2000, almost as expensive as when the vehicle debuted in the early 2000s.
