The high-revving engine pushes the sports car to 163 mph.
For years, enthusiasts have pleaded with Honda to bring the S2000 back, but to no avail. Meanwhile, those fortunate enough to buy the small sports car are seeking for ways to increase its performance. The most apparent example is forced induction, and while most tuning projects we’ve seen have included a turbocharger, this AP2 from 2008 has a supercharger installed.
The added hardware has increased output to 420 horsepower, which is a significant increase over the basic 2.2-liter engine’s 237 horsepower. Because there’s no mention of a torque boost, we’ll remind you that the series S2000 had 162 pound-feet (220 Newton-meters) on tap. The engine still revs all the way up to over 8,000 rpm and is an absolute joy to hear at full tilt.
This right-hand-drive version has Dutch plates and a few modifications in addition to the supercharged engine. Customizations include a rear wing and dual exhaust tips, as well as a screen neatly fitted into the dashboard on the passenger side. We’d like to learn more about this S2000, but we’ll have to make do with the highest speed run on the Autobahn for now. The AP2 surged to a GPS-verified 163 mph (263 km/h) while driving on an unrestricted piece of Germany’s beautiful highway.
An S2000 with a turbocharger released its 520 horsepower wrath on the same Autobahn earlier this year, and it was marginally faster than this supercharged model. Some would argue fitting a turbo or a supercharger to the high-revving naturally aspirated engine is sacrilegious, but there’s no denying going down this road turns the soft-top convertible into an absolute pocket rocket.
With everyone going electric and the sports car segment shrinking, the only chance we’ll ever get to another S2000 will be as an EV. There are some rumors of a Civic Type R-powered version coming in 2024, but we wouldn’t necessarily hold our breath.
Source: AutoTopNL / Motorsport.tv
