S2000 and STi have that balance too...Possibly the Sky Redline/Solstice GXP twins as well.

 

Probably will, especially if sales are good enough to get back the tuner's investment, and the buyers are young*. I wonder what kind of power the EcoTec can put down within the confines of the Sky/Solstice? Seems like an engine that can reliably put down 350-375 HP without building the motor.



* From what I've seen, the base Solstice has been going to an older market. Mostly guys in their 30s and 40s.

 

I've never figured that out, either. A lot of my friends are Honda die-hards, and think the only good garage is one full of Honda/Acura products, regardless of the prescence of other great cars to choose from. Now, the S2000 to me is still the best sports car under $45k (Elise and C6).* But it has been out for 7 model years with only a couple minor tweaks, none of which altered the performance envelope. This is a recurring trend for Honda; and I don't for one second think Honda will respond to the Sky Redline or Solstice GXP.

The only thing I can think about Hondas is that so many people got their start in them with older Civics, CRXs, and Integras and the loyalty stuck. They were a lot cheaper than the Supra TT, RX7, and whatnot, and had a good supply of tuner parts when most others didn't. A lot of people newer to cars are getting their start with the 240, SRT4, Evo, WRX / Sti, and whatnot so their loyalty will lie elsewhere.


* I don't really consider sedans to be sports cars, regardless of how fast they are. If you drop that restriction, then I consider the S2000 and Evo the best sports cars under $45K.

 

I just cant bring myself to call the S2K a "real" sports car. Yes it is an amazing handling car..... but thats it. Power is what i and many others consider the main (not only) trait of a sports car (thats MY opinion). 140TQ is not a performance machine for 30K+$. I think the S2K is more along the lines of a roadster not a sports car.

Unless Honda does something drastic to the engine or the exterior, i think the S2K is on its way out. There are too many S/C and turboed cars coming out in the near future by just about all of hondas competitors(<?) for the S2K to hang with them in sales and performance.

 

got right the first time? i guess... but with porsche i guess they got the carrera wrong like 8 times huh? see... that's the thing... each car has been a generation with a following and has been an improvement but still retains its CLASS and it's PERFORMANCE, any die hard porscher will tell you that.

but honda just keeps peddling the same thing... like it's something to do. i mean there's nothing wrong with it... it's just really dissapointing.

 

In that sense a GTO is a better $35k sports car than either the Evo or S2000. The Mustang GT and '03-04 Cobras, too.

I've never been into drag racing so the (relative) absence of torque has never been an issue to me.

 

I really wish Honda would have followed the 911 model with the NSX and S2000. Gradual body changes with incremental performance increases every 3-5 years. Porsche has made money selling a few thousand 911s per year for decades; Honda could have easily done the same given their larger and generally superior engineering capabilities (not saying that Honda engineers are better than Porsche engineers; just that Honda has more).

 

Well according to your last post you DONT consider a sedan a sports car no matter how fast it is....Sooooo take the EVO off that list. and when you take the EVO off that list i believe your list would be IMO somewhat accurate.

And you are right the EVO isnt a sports car its a rally car.

 

Yet if you look at drag times, the GT and LS1 GTO are only a trivial amount faster than the S2000 (the LS2 GTO is quite a bit quicker) but neither has the overall package (handling, braking)... so, ultimately, it's a bit of personal preference. I'll take the lighter, better handling, better braking, better looking car and sacrifice a tiny bit of power.

 

You hit the nail on the head when you said its all about personal preference, because thats what it all comes down to when your choosing a car to buy

 

A sports car by definition would be a car created or at least inspired by sports competition. Is rally no longer a sport?

Wikipedia: "A sports car is a type of automobile designed for sporting performance.
A sports car is a car whose dominant design consideration is driving pleasure.
Great emphasis is often placed on handling—the ability of the driver to remain in control of the car under challenging conditions such as when the car's tires begin to lose their grip on corners."

Sounds like an Evo to me...

This could also apply to the S2k.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_car

 

I believe the traditional definition of a sports car is a RWD coupe without a roof. A sports car does not need displacement and power (i.e., a muscle car) to qualify itself as one, but it should be able to establish a close connection between the driver and road, while operating with a refined balance of acceleration, braking, and turning.

 

Also dissapointed with the fact that Honda really hasn't done anything since 1999 with s2000. They are behind the game now and I really would consider a new s2000 except the power and looks is pretty much the same 7 years into and with a lower redline now. It will probably die off NSX style....which is sad.

To be fair s2000 isn't made to be a drag car but more handling which it does very well. Fun car to go turning in.
More straightline power would def be nice. I had i/e/h/ VAFC, tuned, and 4.57 gears. I dont even want to think how much I spent... and at best I would hit low 13s. The AP2s (04+) get even less power from bolt ons compared to AP1s. Honda engineering did an awesome job on the s2000, bolt ons don't do jack. Even a Super charger would only get s2k into low 13s without additional mods.

If honda doesn't step it up , which 90% feeling they won't as the 07 will be just like the 06, I'm def headed toward EVO IX MR in a few months or next years G35 coupe if the performance #s of the resdesigned engine is impressive. We will find out this summer when the mags test out g35 sedan.

 

you would go from an s2k to a g35? are you nuts? those things are so bad as it is....

i mean... are you hoping for a miracle?

trivial amount faster in stock form... however it's the ultimate potential that matters. s2k almost 0 ultimate potential. we already know that the ls6r runs in many gt races including speed world challenge in both factory backed AND privateer cars. even if the s2k motor is a pocket f1 it has still yet to be proven in any professional racing series. hell it's yet to be proven in any scca or nasa roadracing series. in autocross... power don't matter, only grip.

 

There is more than a little difference in power between the LS2 and the S2K. The LS2 has about 150 Rwhp greater peak. If you consider the area under the Hp an Tq curves on a dyno......it's not close at all. The acceleration is close because the GTO is a pig. I wouldn't suggest challenging one to a roll on in a S2K (or a stock EVO for that matter).