Over the past 12 months Honda has revealed two new sports car concepts - the CR-Z from last year’s Tokyo Motor Show and the more recent OSM from July’s London Motor Show - but to this day there has been no official mention of a successor to one of the company’s most popular sports cars, the S2000.
While the OSM looked like it could be a preview of a possible S2000 replacement, Honda has confirmed that it isn’t. Instead, the London show car is more likely to be a preview of a convertible hybrid sports car due early next decade. A coupe version based on the CR-Z will also be built.
That doesn’t mean there are no plans for an S2000 successor. Road & Track reports that an inside source at Honda confirmed the S2000 replacement is currently in development in Japan but won’t be unveiled until 2011 – a year after the launch of the NSX replacement and CR-Z.
No other details were revealed but there are rumors that a V6 engine, possibly a 3.5L or 3.7L unit from the TL, could be used in what would essentially be an ‘S3000’ roadster. However, a major part of the appeal of the original is its high-strung four-cylinder engine, which owners needed to ‘master’ to get the most of. Instead, Honda will likely stick with a four-cylinder but could bump displacement up to 2.5L.