Honda S2000
Lets get JDM for a
little bit! Although some might not like this one being a JDM representative, I
believe it deserves a spotlight. I have not personally owned one of these cars,
but a friend had one and it caught my eye right away. He was a Honda certified
mechanic (believe he is to this day) and above all cars he could have picked
from, he chose an S2000 without even considering anything else. I soon realized
why. All he ever did to his car was some lighter wheels with wider tires, a cold air intake and some minor suspension upgrades. It stuck to the road like it was glued to it. It wasn't say Ferrari fast but it was fast enough to surprise several opponents and me.
The casting
represents a customized version with some ground effects and body kit
embellishments. It also features a big rear spoiler that represents either the
drift scenes style or a modest street custom. The casting first release was in
2011. [1] It has been part of Hot wheels line up almost every year. The Fast
and Furious line also featured a Pink version in several different packages and
then it was featured in the 2018 Honda series – this version is shown here:
It was my first encounter and possibly my
first look at Japanese cars with an interested eye. It was the beginning of the
Fast and Furious movie era and the second movie release featured one. Most
racing games had one. What was so special? Honda was not known for performance
cars yet. Honda was a small car manufacturer that focused on gas mileage and 4
cylinders while the big 3 in the Us focused on horsepower and loud exhaust
notes. Then things started to change. Toyota and its Supra, Mazda and the RX7,
enter Honda and the S2000 and Civic-R. (The alt-brand Acura was also involved
with the NSX and Integra R) The S2000 remained in production for 10 years,
pretty much unchanged through its entire run. The last production year was 2009
[2]. The F20C motor and presumably what is represented in the casting produced
a quoted 247hp out of a 122 cu in 4 cylinder motor that spun all the way to 9000
rpms at the redline [2]. This put the Honda S2000 in a category all its own, it
was considered to be the most power to cubic inch ratio in any production car.
A ride in my
friend’s car proved to me that JDM was not only a look from the movies but was
a serious option to the muscle V8s that I had remained stuck on all these
years. All this and gas mileage that could not be touched by any American car
packaged in a Honda that would hold its value and had a reputation of lasting
forever, my mind was opened. It is now 10 years since the last S2000 sat on the
dealer lots. I don’t see very many of them on used lots and I am going to make an
assumption that one of these cars that has been taken care of, not raced or had nitrous on
will become a collectible and desirable car in the near future.
Keep your eyes on the pegs, I saw a prerelease video that
showed off a new release in yellow coming to the main line in 2020 D cases. We
should see these on pegs very soon. Happy peg hunting!!
Thank you
Collector Quentin
I personally own all of the actual diecast pictured in
these posts however, all packaging artwork, Mattel logos, Hot Wheels logos and wheel
descriptions in regard to the Hot Wheels versions are copyrights of the Mattel
toy company.
Honda and S2000 are trademarks of the Honda Motor Company
LTD.
[1] Casting information gathered from:
[2] Real world car information gathered from:
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