This morning somebody decided the internet was going to talk about a revival of Honda’s dearly departed rear-drive purist sports car, the S2000. Maybe the prevailing malaise about the new NSX has Honda fans desperate for redemption but there’s no real reason to discuss this right now.
Seems like most sites are pointing to the British site AutoCar as the OG instigators here. Based on this:
Now a third generation is said to be under development as Honda tries to reconnect with the S2000’s dedicated fan base.
Representatives from Honda’s advanced engineering department are said to have attended a recent S2000 owners’ club event in the British Isles - a sign that the firm wants to listen to enthusiasts in order to help it to position the next version of the car accurately.
That’s not a confirmation.
It is believed that the firm’s European boss, Toshiaki Mikoshiba, has been given specific targets to improve continuity and nurture customer retention, as well as reducing the gap between product launches in Japan and the US and the arrival of those cars in Europe. The new HR-V and Jazz — plus the newly launched US-market Civic — are seen as prime examples of cars taking too long to reach European customers.
Neither is that.
Honda has decided that the diminutive S660 roadster that’s sold in Japan would not have a broad enough appeal to justify homologation in other markets. Hachigo said: “If there is strong demand from a region then we will always consider possibilities, but the S660 is a car that was developed for the Japanese market and we’d have to do a lot of work on it to make it comply with European regulations. I also wonder: would a car like this, sold in Asia, succeed in Europe?”
And neither is that.
AutoCar expounds on platforms, confirms a configuration, and discusses possible engines for the car that doesn’t exist.
The connection between engineers visiting an enthusiast event and Honda doing a whole new car seems weaker than that jungle bridge Billy Zane drives over in The Phantom. (Anyone? No?) This is, often, how “new car” reports come about: publications take something tenuous they hear and then run with it in wild and crazy ways to get eyeballs.
But hey, it’s trending on Facebook, so it’s our duty to yell at the clouds with an opinion one way or another.
I’m leaning toward “false,” by the way. Prove us wrong, Honda. Prove us wrong!
Image via Honda
Contact the author at andrew@jalopnik.com.