At $25,999, Is This 2002 Honda S2000 A Beautiful Bargain?

The ad copy for today’s Nice Price or No Dice S2000 closes with the statement “Will not last long.” We’ll have to assume that to mean the sale, not the car, and we now have to determine if that claim is backed up by the Honda’s presentation and price.

The adoption of a communal currency is one of the European Union’s most laudable achievements. Agreed upon by the majority of European member states through the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and officially introduced in 1999, the Euro is managed by the European Central Bank. Today, it is used by all but 7 of the European Union’s members.

Switching currencies is a monumental task, but Volkswagen eased the public’s perception of the upcoming Euro among potential U.S. tourists by introducing the Eurovan here in early 1992. The 1993 VW Eurovan Westafalia Weekender we looked at yesterday offered a strong reminder of that effort. However, the tattletale of its quarter-million-mile odometer reading raised concern amongst many of you that the van didn’t have much of a future ahead. Because of that, the VW’s otherwise modest $7,500 asking price didn’t find favor, ultimately falling in a 53% ‘No Dice’ loss.

As high mileage was a deal killer on yesterday’s Eurovan, we can all take heart that the 2003 Honda S2000 AP1 we are looking at today only has a modest 66,800 miles under its belt.

First introduced in the mid-1990s as the Sport Study Model (SSM) show car, and released in production guise for the 2000 model year, Honda’s S2000 was the company’s attempt to syphon off some of that sweet Miata gravy that Mazda was lapping up at the time. The sports roadster was notable for the company on several levels. Most importantly, it marked the return of RWD to Honda’s lineup after a hiatus of more than 30 years. Being the logical, if long-delayed, successor to the company’s mid-1960s sports cars, which took their names (S600, S800) from the abbreviation for Sport and their engine displacement in cubic centimeters, the natural name for the new millennium successor was S2000. Oddly, that name would stick even on the later AP2 models that saw a bump in engine displacement from 2.0 to 2.2 liters.

Our car is representative of the OG model and, when new, could claim the crown for the highest specific output of any naturally aspirated engine, making 120 horsepower for each of its two liters. While the S2000 has a stable full of horses at its beck and call, its DOHC VTEC four-cylinder is a bit light on torque. Officially, there’s only 153 pound-feet on tap, and that only comes into its own at a heady 7500 rpm. Making the most of what it’s got, the car has a standard six-speed stick in the middle and a limited-slip diff out back.

According to the ad, this S2000 has just been serviced, though there’s no detail as to how extensive that work was. It has also enjoyed a recent detailing and is now in what the seller says is “excellent” condition. Most notably, this appears to be a completely stock example, something rare for the breed. Not only that, but its engine bay is a thing of beauty. It’s quite common on these cars for the red crinkle finish on the cam cover to discolor and flake due to age and heat. On this car, that, and everything else under the hood, looks to be in as-new condition.

There don’t appear to be any gotchas anywhere else on the car either. The Berlina Black over black leather color combo is very complementary for the car’s simple lines and goes well with the factory five-spoke alloys, which brighten up the overall dark theme. Those wheels appear free from curb rash and are wearing brand-new Firestone meats. The only other bling on the bodywork is the badging and the chrome tips of the dual exhausts.

Both the top and the cabin also seem to be in solid shape, although the latter offers very tight confines and shows some wear on the sills and seat bolsters due to the challenges of getting in and out of the car. Considering that Honda’s goal with the S2000 was to maximize power-to-weight ratio, it’s surprising that the company’s engineers went with an electrically actuated convertible top, especially when Mazda had already shown that a manual top was a simple and elegant solution. But that bit of bougie luxury can still be appreciated today. The only other notable feature of the cabin is an aftermarket stereo head unit under the flip-down cover in the center stack. With a VTEC mill under the hood that’s eager to rev to nearly six figures, who even needs a stereo?

Per the ad, this S2000 has a clean title, an unremarkable CarFax history, and the seller’s assertion that, at the set $25,999 asking price, it “Will not last long.” That claim was made 10 days ago when the ad first dropped, so we’ll have to take it with a grain of salt. 

Or we don’t have to take it at all. What do you think about this seeming time capsule of an S2000 and that $25,999 price? Does that seem fair for so nice an example of an aspirational model? Or at that price, is the seller in it for the long haul?

You decide!

Nice Price or No Dice:

Seattle, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Roger Celio for the hookup!

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