This could have been the facelifted Honda S2000 if it had passed through the evaluation phase
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Fans of the Honda S2000 always dreamt of a new generation after the original went out of production in 2009. Honda never delivered, leaving it to independent designers to envision a possible renewal. Still, an allegedly official proposal for an S2000 facelift by Strosek is probably the closest it gets to the real thing.
Two photos of a Honda-badged two-seater roadster can be found on the official website of the German tuner, among other past projects for various automakers, raising questions about its origins.
Without any reports online, we reached out to Vittorio Strosek to learn more about the project. The designer admitted that the pictured model was a design study commissioned by Honda although he told us it wasn’t realized by the automaker. Unfortunately, Strosek doesn’t have more photos or sketches from the project’s file and doesn’t know what happened to the prototype which looks like a full-scale model.
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Strosek
Despite the facelift claims, every single body panel appears to be redesigned compared to the original S2000, including the mirrors and the lighting units. In fact, the only shared elements we can identify from the photos are the windshield, hood, door handles, retractable roof mechanism, and the cabin. Still, the prototype is instantly recognizable as a Honda, retaining all of the signature styling cues. Specifications are not available, but we suspect that the 2,400 mm (94.5 inches) wheelbase of the production-spec model was retained, as the naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter engine under the hood and the rest of the underpinnings.
The Honda S2000 was introduced in production form back in 1999, following the previewing concept from 1995. The facelifted version appeared in 2004, featuring redesigned bumpers and lighting units. Strosek’s take must have been one of the proposals from the early ’00s that were considered for the mid-lifecycle update and didn’t make it past the development stage.
It is not uncommon for automakers to ask independent design studios for help when they’re working on a new or updated model, creating healthy competition with their own styling department and bringing variety in the evaluation phase.
Do you prefer Strosek’s extensive redesign over the milder facelift of the Honda S2000 that ended up on sale? Should the Japanese company have considered this proposal for a second generation of its fabled roadster?
