When Honda introduced the S2000 production model back in 1999, this was more of a Porsche Boxster rival than a competitor for the Mazda MX-5 Miata, as dictated by its sophistication and resulting pricing. And with Honda having last fueled S2K revival rumors back in 2020 via a restomod concept, many wonder: will the Japanese automaker bring back the roadster as a rival for Porsche’s already-confirmed 718-succeeded electric sports cars?
The original S2000 uses a simple recipe, mixing a high-revving naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine with a relatively lightweight construction and using a manual to send the power to the rear wheels. Factor in the clean styling, as well as the proven Honda reliability, and you end up with a list of attributes that’s difficult to find these days.
And while the original price of the S2K sat at $34,995, that kind of money will only buy you an average-condition example nowadays, but this is still far superior to the prices first-gen Boxsters currently commend. Aiming for a top-shape S2K on the auction sites means you’re more likely to pay between $40,000 and $50,000, especially when seeking the revised AP2 model.
Such a Honda EV roadster would battle the Porsche EV sports cars coming in 2025
Since the German carmaker has showcased its latest electric sports car prototype at last month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (think: Cayman GT4 ePerformance), rumors of a Honda rival now have their fuel.
And digital artist known as Larson Design (or lars_o_saeltzer) has built on this unofficial talk by creating a rendering of the potential Japanese EV roadster.
Dubbed S2000e, this pixel creation is envisioned as an immediate 2023 model—the battery-powered 718 Boxster and Cayman are set to debut in 2025. This quick work maintains the iconic modern classic look of the S2000, while updating the wheels and the front fascia. And, as the artist explains on Instagram, the nose of the S2000e is inspired from the Honda S800 of the late 1960s.
Of course, there are always those wacky artist renderings mixing the S2000 and the Porsche 718 to send our jaws towards the floor…
How Honda is keeping the S2000 on the radar
As for the said way in which Honda is keeping the S2000 name under the spotlights, this involves concept cars (for the record, the production model was previewed by the SSM show car back in 1995). So, the Japanese carmaker introduced the S2000 Modulo at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon, while the event’s 2020 edition brought us the S2000 20th Anniversary. Both show vehicles were nothing but a list of modern accesories fitted to the original vehicle, but they proved Honda still cares about the sports car.
In fact, the company already sells brand new parts for the S2000 to keep the old cars going. And there’s speculation about the automaker planning to offer exquisite factory restoration jobs, as it does with the OG NSX (this would cost a pretty penny, though).
An electric S2K revival sounds like the logical thing to do
As carmakers inevitably transition into the electric era, fresh names get a chance to run alongside traditional names. So it would be strange not to see Honda leveraging on its pedigree and introducing a battery-powered successor to the S2000.
And while such a model would obviously lack the drama of the original (the early AP1 cars had a 9,000 rpm redline, remember?), we can at least trust Honda to deliver the kind of handling that would keep the driver fully immersed.
