The S2000's origins lie in the SSM (Sports Study Model) concept Honda displayed at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show. Chief engineer Shigeru Uehara led the production development programme. The car takes its name from its 2.0-litre engine displacement and positions itself as the successor spirit to the S500, S600, and S800 roadsters of the 1960s.
Honda designed the car around a front-mid engine layout — the engine sits behind the front axle centreline — combined with rear-wheel drive and a 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution. The chassis uses double-wishbone suspension at both ends. At launch, the S2000 was priced at $32,000 in the United States.
The first-generation S2000, designated AP1, used the F20C 2.0-litre DOHC VTEC engine. In Japanese-market specification this engine produced up to 184 kW (250 PS) and revved to a 9,000 rpm redline — figures that placed it among the most extreme naturally aspirated road car engines of its era. The engine's peak torque arrives at 7,500 rpm, making the powerband deliberately narrow and requiring the driver to work through the gears to maintain pace. Maximum torque in North American specification was 153 lb-ft at 7,500 rpm with 240 horsepower at 8,300 rpm. A six-speed manual gearbox with a 4.1:1 final drive ratio is fitted, allowing the driver to keep the engine in its effective powerband. The curb weight was approximately 2,809 pounds.
The cabin features a digital instrument cluster and a large red engine start button in place of a conventional ignition key, both unconventional choices for a production road car at the time. A power-operated soft top is fitted as standard.
The second-generation AP2, sold from 2004 onward, introduced the F22C1 2.2-litre engine for North American and Japanese markets. The larger displacement was intended to widen the usable powerband and increase low-to-mid-range torque, which had been a criticism of the AP1 in everyday driving conditions. The AP2 redline drops to 8,200 rpm from the AP1's 9,000 rpm. Suspension tuning was also revised for the AP2.
Specialist trim variants produced in limited numbers include the Club Racer (CR), offered in the United States between 2008 and 2009 in a total of 699 units, and the Type S, sold in Japan between 2008 and 2009 in 1,755 units.
The S2000 was adopted as a competition car across multiple categories. In Japan, it competed in the Super Taikyu endurance series in the ST-4 class, where it accumulated championships. The model achieved class victories at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and won national championship titles at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs in the United States. Time attack competitors used the S2000 extensively at circuits including Tsukuba, Fuji, and Suzuka, where it established benchmark lap times for naturally aspirated front-engine rear-wheel-drive machinery.
Tuning and racing preparation firms — among them Spoon Sports, founded in 1988 by former Honda test driver Tatsuru Ichishima — took the S2000 as a core development platform alongside the NSX and Integra Type R. Spoon's circuit testing and Super Taikyu work on the S2000 developed the car's reputation as a pure-handling platform in contrast to the turbocharged performance cars dominant in much of Japanese motorsport.
Honda ended S2000 production in June 2009 without announcing a direct successor. The total production run of 113,889 units over ten years closed Honda's rear-wheel-drive open sports car line for the following decade.
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