First Drive 2008 Honda S2000 CR – Previews

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door roadster
ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $38,000
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection
Displacement: 132 cu in, 2157cc
Power (SAE net): 237 bhp @ 7800 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 162 lb-ft @ 6800 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 94.5 in
Length: 162.1 in
Width: 68.9 in
Height: 50.0 in
Curb weight: 2800–2900 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 5.5 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.0 sec
PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY (MFR’S EST):
EPA city driving: 18 mpg
EPA highway driving: 25 mpg

“Warning! Auto racing is spectacular and exciting, but can be dangerous!” The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course posts this caution next to the drivers’ bathrooms, so it’s probably worth repeating in this introduction to the Honda S2000 CR. For the CR—the initials stand for “Club Racer”—is about rubber-chunking, brake-burning, wall-fanning track work. You wouldn’t really want the shale-stiff CR for anything else, which is perhaps why Honda plans to sell only 1400 copies of the circa-$38,000 CR in 2008.

Spring rates and shock-damping settings are hiked considerably, although they remain nonadjustable, and the anti-roll bars are thicker. The steering ratio is hastened from 14.9:1 to 13.8:1, and stiffeners are added to the rack mount to increase rigidity. The CR’s blocky Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tires, tread-widened in back from 245 to 255, proved stickier while lapping Mid-Ohio back-to-back with base 2008 S2000s (slightly revised instruments top the list of minor refinements to the base car).

Compared with the base S2000, the CR is simply harder and sharper, with less body roll and tire scrubbing and more corner composure and stability under braking. With no more horsepower, the CR pruned about three seconds off lap times turned in the base car. That’s a gift any racer will surely find spectacular and exciting.

© Source: caranddriver
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