Honda S2000 Electric Revival Coming Later This Year: Report

We’ve heard at least a few different theories about the potential revival of the Honda S2000. Unveiled in its final production form in April 1999 to celebrate the Japanese firm’s 50th anniversary, the front-mid engine open-top sports car was a great sales success for Honda with more than 110,000 units delivered to customers during its 10-year production run. According to a new report, the automaker now wants to replicate this formula and has plans to celebrate its 75th anniversary with an ideological successor to the S2000 for the new era in the automotive industry.

Car says it has information from “industry insiders at the company,” according to which Honda is preparing a small electric sports car. Take this hint with a grain of salt, but the publication claims the company will use its new e:n electric vehicle architecture as a base for its new product, which will be one of about 30 new EVs Honda is set to launch by the end of the decade. The battery-powered S2000 successor could also wear Type R badges and Honda’s technical consultant explains why.

“Type R stands for racing. It’s pleasure transported. An electric car can deliver this, and a Type R is not obliged to use a combustion engine. Even in a fully electric society, there will still be Type Rs delivering ultimate driving pleasure,” Kotaro Yamamoto told the publication. 

The report doesn’t provide more details about the new electric sports car, though. The S2000 was offered with a 2.0- or a 2.2-liter gasoline naturally aspirated engine with different outputs depending on the model year and the market. The most powerful version was the JDM 2.0-liter model with a peak power of 247 horsepower (184 kilowatts). However, a naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine seems very outdated by today’s standards in the industry and the model’s successor will reportedly rely on a fully electric powertrain. 

During its first year on the market, the S2000 had a price of $32,477 and a very limited options list. The automotive market is very different now and we expect its modern-day successor to cost at least twice more in its base form. Car speculates that the model will likely be more expensive than the MG Cyberster, which is expected to start at around $68,000 at launch. Of course, this is just an assumption the publication makes based on a statement made by Rebecca Adamson, Head of Automobiles for Honda UK: “While we cannot compete with Chinese manufacturers on price, we have 75 years of engineering experience.”