The Tale of the Honda S2000

Once upon a time (1995), in a land far, far away (Japan), Honda unveiled the Sports Study Concept (SSC) model at the Tokyo Motor Show. It was the fairest sports car in the land—so fair, in fact, that Honda put the concept into production only a few years later. By September of 1998 there was a pre-production prototype of the Honda S2000, and by April of the following year it was being manufactured and shipped off to dealerships worldwide.

The problem with this early version of the S2000 was that somewhere between the SSC model and production some of the design elements were lost. The large rear diffuser, low headlights, and passenger divider all went to the wayside, even though many of the more favorable aspects of the car—the push-button starter, roadster-style double seats, 50/50 weight distribution, and rigidity-enhancing x-bone monocoque frame—stuck around. It was a starting point for the vehicle, and over the next few years it would continue to grow and continue to sell, adding features like the optional aluminum hardtop. It did well, to say the least.

In a practical sense, most of us are happy with a used Honda Accord. San Francisco dealerships are also used to showing off the Honda Civic. San Francisco knows this. They know what their bread and butter is, but in ten years on the market, the S2000 sold over 110,000 units, including 65,000 in the United States alone. Yes, the Accord and Civic are the big sellers, but the sporty S2000 is the sprinkles on the sundae. If the Civic is the DVD, the S2000 is the director’s commentary. It’s a bonus feature, an Easter Egg. Everybody loved it.

But then, Honda decided it was time to close up shop on this memorable model of car. After ten years, they put it into retirement. Not exactly a fairy tale ending, especially when there doesn’t appear to be any replacement on the horizon. In June of 2009, the last S2000 rolled off an assembly line in Japan, where this whole story began, and drove into the distance, never to be seen again. It was a hero’s exit, and though it doesn’t appear that everyone lived happily ever after, at least the S2000 went out at the top of its game. In that sense, it really was a happy ending after all.