With the revival of the range-topping NSX and proposed kei car, the S660, Honda is turning up the wick in its sportscar programme. Reports have now surfaced that suggest a successor to the S2000 will make production by 2017 and boast a hybrid powertrain.
According to British publication Auto Express, the next S2000 won’t adopt a back-to-basics approach and use a high-revving normally aspirated engine like the original. Instead of a lightweight roadster, it will become a mid-engine coupe.
Powering the next S2000 will be a tweaked version of the new Civic Type R’s turbocharged four-cylinder engine that should produce in the region of 260 kW, with an electric motor to supplement the experience. Honda will probably use much of the knowledge gleaned from its F1 partnership with McLaren when it returns to the pinnacle of motorsport as an engine supplier for the British team in 2015.
The new S2000 won’t be as hard-edged as its predecessor, but performance should still be astonishing. A zero-to-100 km/h sprint of approximately 5,0 seconds is reportedly what Honda’s aiming at, with an average fuel consumption of 7,0 litres/100 km.
