Yahoo Autos Evasive Motorsports Honda S2000R First Drive: Type R-powered restomod
LOS ANGELES — “Yo, now that I’m done with the photography, I’m going to push the car on the drive back through the switchbacks,” I say over the walkie-talkie. It’s part statement, mostly probing question sent with hope from the driver’s seat of the roadster. Fresh from the unveil event, no one has really beat on the prototype S2000R, other than on the dyno.
“Copy,” crackles back Mike Chang from the passenger seat of the trailing camera car, the co-founder of Evasive Motorsport and the mastermind behind the Honda. Tony Kwan, the other co-founder and gracious camera car operator for the day, is driving the SUV I just finished shooting rollers from. “Have fun with it,” says Tony.
I turn left off the coastal road into a twisty strip of asphalt that connects the Palos Verdes peninsula to the rest of Los Angeles. I shuffle from first to second gear, and my right foot goes heavy. A dull suction sound quickly sharpens to a high-pitch whistle as the turbo spools near instantaneously, sucking in the briny ocean air through the carbon fiber Mugen intake and Evasive S2000R intake manifold. The boost propels the Honda uphill uncharacteristically. With the naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter F20C engine found in factory S2000s, you have to wail the revs above 6,000 rpm with VTEC at full song for any kind of modest acceleration on the mildest slopes. Not so with Evasive Motorsports’ build.
Heading toward the first switchback, I shift early into third, letting the 306-horsepower engine from the previous-gen FK8 Civic Type R take full advantage of the 23.2 pounds of compressed air. The SUV, along with Tony and Mike, fades from the mirrors. I stab the pedal to the upgraded Brembo six-piston front and four-piston rear brakes that bite with confidence and clumsily blip the throttle with the back of my foot and shift back to second — I really need to brush up on my heel-toe game.
I rotate the Momo steering wheel counterclockwise and turn into the first switchback, making use of the upgraded chassis braces, sway bars, bushings, bump steer kit and the KW Clubsport coilovers. I jab the throttle a bit too aggressively and the rear wheels get skittish from the spooling turbos. My sphincter tightens. The metal guardrails feel mighty close. I modulate the throttle and the OS Giken limited-slip differential does its job of distributing the power to the output shafts. The custom Motec display blinks deep into the 6,000 rpms in a fraction of a second, forcing a quick shift to third.
Two more switchbacks in, and I already feel it. Damn, this car is good.
Y2K S2K
When Honda launched the S2000 back in ’99. It was lauded by journos and the public alike. The sculpted rear-wheel-drive roadster with its clean lines boasted shiny Y2K tech like a digital cluster and push-button start (that still required a conventional key, but was fresh for the time). Despite it being a convertible, the S2000 with its heavily braced chassis was incredibly adept, achieving 50/50 weight distribution. The 2.0-liter F20C engine screamed to a 9,000-rpm redline, producing 240 hp. It was almost perfect.
What the Honda lacked was torque. At 120 hp per naturally aspirated liter, the engine’s output was unheard of, setting a production car record. It would take the Ferrari 458 Italia to best that effort years later. Torque output, on the other hand, was 153 pound-feet. A 2000 Chevy Cavalier wrung out 155 lb-ft, so yes, revs were the answer.
