The new millennium is well and truly here, now that we’ve celebrated it in style and didn’t get bitten by the Y2K bug (remember all the doom and gloom about that?). And in keeping with the fresh outlook and fun spirit of the new millennium, Honda have produced the Honda S2000, a sporty convertible with a real sense of “yee-hah!” about it.

For a start off, don’t you just love the looks of the Honda S2000? HID headlights that echo the overall body shape. A big air intake that doesn’t look out of proportion. Contours designed to reduce that irritating turbulence with the top down so you only get your hair ruffled slightly rather than whipped about into hopeless tangles. A soft top that slips away or up in just six seconds. Very smart 17″ alloy tires. Red, birch or black leather upholstery inside depending on your choice from eight vibrant colours for the body paint (my top pick: Barina Black with red leather).

Seat yourself – and one lucky friend – inside the Honda S2000, and you’re ready to start having fun. First, however, you might want to run your eyes over the digital dashboard with its big bold numbers, set the air conditioning to how you like it (if you’re keeping the top down – but do you really want to do that when the sun is shining and the Honda S2000’s ready to run?), pop up to 8 CDs into the 4-channel sound system (or a cassette, or tune the AM/FM radio to your favourite station) and slide a cool glass of mineral water or lemonade into the cupholder.

Press the big red “engine start” button and you’ll hear the 2.0 litre engine with DOHC and VTEC sing sweetly. This hot little beauty of a beast can rip out a top power of 176 kW at a screaming high 8300 rpm and a top torque of 208 Nm at 7500 rpm (manufacturers’ figures). Press the drive-by-wire throttle down, run through the 6-speed manual gears and see what the Honda S2000 can do.

Put the Honda S2000 around a few corners and you’ll find that it is a beautifully balanced roadster that has a nice low centre of gravity and a low moment of inertia. The reduced unsprung weight makes the Honda S2000 corner well and smoothly, and the wider tyres at the rear give a brilliant level of grip. ABS brakes stop the Honda S2000 smartly and surely, and the double wishbone suspension front and back gives it a delightfully crisp feeling.

The Honda S2000 comes with all the safety features a little sports car needs, from the fire retardant interior to the pretensioned seatbelts with load limiters. The body design, with twin side impact door beams, large side sills and the progressive crumple zones that also channel the force of an impact into the side and floor so as to reduce damage to the cabin, has made the Honda S2000 perform very well indeed in crash tests, much better than other cars of its type, making the Honda S2000 comparable to the safety levels of a larger closed-body car. The Honda S2000 completes its safety feature line-up with dual airbags and rollover protection.

The Honda S2000 is truly a fun car that invites you to take a ride and rediscover the pleasure that driving can be.

Current model series include:

• Honda S2000 2

For any more information on the Honda S2000, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Honda dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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