The Mazda MX-5 Miata may dominate the small sports car market today, but there was a point in the last decade when it faced a legitimate challenger in the form of the Honda S2000. That model ran for 10 years (1999 to 2009), encompassing two different generations before the global auto crisis of 2008 forced Honda to scrap plans for a third-generation model. As the years have passed, rumors have swirled that Honda was considering bringing back the S2000, even going as far as to file patent images of a mid-engine Honda sports car and introducing a sports car concept wearing similar design nods to the said patent images.
All of that has led to a new report coming out of Holiday Auto, which not only confirmed the return of the S2000, but also went so far as to say that the returning sports car would be slotted between the entry-level Honda S660 (another sports car that’s rumored to be in development) and the automaker’s performance crown jewel, the NSX.
According to the Japanese magazine, the returning S2000 is going to receive a whopper of an engine in the form of a newly developed turbocharged unit that can produce more than 320 horsepower while mated to an eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission. The whole technical setup will also reportedly include an electrically driven supercharger that can cut fuel consumption compared to a conventional biturbo engine while also removing any sort of turbo lag that’s normally attributed to turbochargers.
How Honda plans to tackle every other part of the returning S2000 is still unclear, but a timetable for a 2018 launch has apparently been set as Honda looks to celebrate its 70th anniversary (also happening next year) with a ferocious bang. A price point of around $50,000 has also been mentioned, making it significantly more expensive than the MX-5. That’s probably a sign that Honda’s leaving that specific battle to the S660, as it places the S2000 in a more premium position to possibly take on the likes of entry level European sports cars like the BMW M2 and Audi TT.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
from Top Speed http://ift.tt/2kV6oYT
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