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| Honda
S 2000 |
Broadcast
date : 16th May 2004 |
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 The
diminutive lines of Honda's S2000 sports car belie its ability
to produce near-supercar performance.
How does a zero to one hundred time of six comma two seconds
grab you? Or a top speed of two hundred and forty kilometres
an hour? And the amazing part is that this achieved from an
engine displacing just one thousand, nine hundred and ninety
seven ccs.
The original S2000 was introduced here in limited numbers
about four years ago and it was rated then as a real sports
car, an involving driving experience. That has not changed
with the latest version. It is merely faster, and a little bit
easier to handle.
The V-Tec, or variable valve lift engine produces a claimed
one hundred and seventy seven kilowatts from its two litres,
which is an astounding achievement for its size.
It revs to nine thousand RPM and yet it has a very usable
low-speed powerband which sees the driver potter around as if
it was a shopping car
The Honda does need to be worked hard to deliver its
true sports car credentials. At low revs the engine sounds a
little bland, the feel of the car unremarkable. You do don't
get the all-encompassing feedback that you would from driving
an Italian or German thoroughbred.
Nevertheless the original S2000 handled like a thoroughbred,
but it was prone to severe tail slides which could catch out
the unwary.
Thus the new car features stiffer springs at the front, softer
springs at the rear and a stiffer rear anti-roll bar.
The basic theory behind these changes is that a softer set-up
provides more bite or grip.
The softer rear end is less likely to let go in a hurry in
this 2004 version while the stiffer front prevents weight
transfer when braking into a corner.
Six speeds and rear wheel drive make this a real enthusiast's
car.
And thanks to the strengthening of the Rand over the past few
years, the S2000 costs three hundred and fifty nine thousand
Rand, some sixteen thousand Rand less than the first
version cost in the year two thousand.
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