One of the most intriguing bits of dialogue exchanged at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show last week came from the Honda camp, whose President and CEO Takahiro Hachigo told members of the media that a successor to the much loved S2000 could materialise should there be demand for it.
He was answering a question during the unveil of the Sports EV concept, an fully electric compact two-door coupe that hints at a direct competitor to the Mazda MX-5, Toyota 86 and Subaru BR-Z should it step into production form in the near future. Given its size, appearance, and the history of Honda with such cars, the parallels that sparked that question seem almost inevitable.
Autocar reports that Hachigo is indeed quite open to the idea of returning to the S2000, but is tempering that with the right market conditions and customer demand being key factors on whether the project ultimately will be given the green light.
"I've already heard many voices expressing they'd like a next generation S2000. Honda development engineers are quick to develop sporty cars, if the requests are there", he said. "All over the world - in Japan, North America, Europe, Chine - more and more voices are expressing the desire to reinvent S2000,”
“However, it has not matured yet. It's not time yet. We need time to decide if S2000 is reinvented or not. If the sales people investigate, look at it, and they're really enthusiastic, maybe we look at it.”
What was striking about the exchange itself was how willingly Hachigo-san spoke about the Japanese automaker’s intentions and priorities. He touched upon Honda’s history of giving customers “new models with the joy of driving,” and how they are keen on keeping to that norm. The media’s standard interpretation of this would naturally be, keeping in mind that there wasn’t a clear denial, that they are indeed working on such a project - amassing the right ingredients to start preparing the feast, if you’ll excuse the strained metaphor.
Honda has been on something of a sports car renaissance over the past couple of years, introducing everything from a tiny mid-engine Kei car in the S660 to a hybrid supercar in the new NSX to what is shaping up to be one of the most significant versions of the Civic Type R to yet exist. Even generally, Honda is placing more emphasis on the more dynamic and emotive aspects of their cars, down to the most unassuming of grocery-getters. This, by the way, is a very good development.
For more on Honda cars, check out our Showroom.
