Rumours that the much-loved Honda S2000 roadster could be returning in the near future have been doing the rounds for a while now, but a new report claims it could be one step closer to reality.
Car and Driver reports that the S2000 will be unveiled early next year in time for Honda’s 70th anniversary, just as the original model’s release coincided with the company’s 50th anniversary.
Honda has allegedly been planning the S2000’s return for quite a while now, to sit alongside the Civic Type R and the new NSX supercar as part of a three-pronged halo car strategy.
Originally, the idea was to have the roadster powered by the same 2.0-litre turbo engine as the Type R, but the new report claims that’s been scrapped in favour of a brand-new motor instead.
A separate report from Japanese publication Holiday Auto claims that the next-generation S2000 will make use of a two-stage electric boost system, with a turbocharger matched with an electrically-powered supercharger.
This setup is reportedly not just lighter and more compact than a more conventional twin-turbo setup, but is also more efficient and nearly eliminates turbo lag for much better response.
The idea, Car and Driver’s source claims, is that as a celebratory model the new S2000 must been seen to be that bit more special than one of Honda’s regular cars, and must sport a new powertrain.
It’s also expected that the new S2000 would come with a unique chassis and underpinning like the NSX, due to the fact that Honda currently doesn’t have a platform for a rear-wheel drive sports car.
Of course, at this stage the rumours are still just that: rumours. But given that Honda’s 70th anniversary isn’t that far off, you can expect to hear more sooner rather than later.
