This New Honda Patent Filing Is Probably The New S2000

Honda’s been going through a boring phase recently, with its lineup full of plain hatchbacks, yawn-inducing saloons and uninspiring crossovers. It seems someone at the company suddenly realised it was letting its reputation as a maker of fun cars slip. Recently we’ve had the new NSX halo car revealed, and the funky S660 kei car proving it can do affordable performance, too. Then there’s the bonkers, be-winged Civic Type R, which, as we discovered recently, is a fine return to form.

There’s still something missing, though, and that’s a mid-range sports car. Rumours have been flying around that Honda was mulling over a new S2000, and those murmurs gained momentum last month after an insider confirmed to Auto Express that an S2000 revival is in the works. If you were sceptical - Internet rumours tend to be the least reliable of rumours, after all - it would appear there is further evidence that the iconic sports car is to make a return.

The CAD illustrations you see here come from Honda patent filings, and appear to show a sports car somewhere between an NSX and S660 in size, taking styling cues from both. It’d make sense for Honda to make such a car, as the current gulf between the S660 and NSX is huge.

If the new S2000 does get the green light, you can expect a simplified version of the petrol-electric hybrid system seen in the NSX halo car. The internal combustion engine aspect of the setup would likely be a revised version of the new Civic Type R’s 306bhp lump. The NSX gets three electric motors, however the S2000 would probably only use the single electric motor that’s located between the engine and gearbox to aid acceleration.

With all this talk of hybrid economy in recent years, it’s fantastic to see consumers resisting, and manufacturers altering focus; performance cars are back on the agenda. Let’s hope these plans come to fruition, as it looks like we’re entering a new era of epic performance cars.