The Mazda MX-5 is lauded for its excellent handling chassis and essential sports car credentials, but nobody is going to accuse it of being too fast in stock form. But today's example is far from stock -- don't worry it isn't one of those V8 swaps that ruins the weight distribution and is instead powered by the 9000 rpm screaming beast from a Honda S2000. Find this 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata here on eBay offered for $6,950 buy-it-now or make-offer located in Miami, FL.
Picture this for a moment. You've got nine large burning a hole in your pants...and unlimited access to DT's tips inbox. What do you do? Do you wait for tipper FuelTruck to send in yet another $9k bargain or do you just jump into the pool with one of these recently submitted:
The second car posted to good old DT was a 2000 Honda S2000. That car was a silver S2000 for sale in Denver, CO with 80K miles and needing a new top for a $11,200 ask. Fast forward 5 years and here is a 28K mile cream puff for your compare and contrast pleasure. Find this 2000 Honda S2000 for sale in San Diego, CA for $21,500 via craigslist. This post is part of DT's 5th Birthday Celebration.
The Mazda Miata might be the most famous of the modern Japanese convertibles, but the high production numbers and basic speed means it will always be the MGB of the future collector market, but the S2000...yes...it will be the Austin-Healey 3000. Find this 2001 Honda S2000 here on eBay offered for $13,500 buy-it-now or make-offer located in Rochester, NY.
Find this 2003 Honda S2000 here on eBay offered for $7,995 buy-it-now or make-offer located in Fredericksburg, VA with 14 days to go.
The Honda S2000 remains the cheapest way to get into a street vehicle with the mean piston speed of an F1 car...unless you want to shove a bike engine into the side of a Toyota MR2, but those have been known to throw rods as often as Russell Crowe throws telephones at bellhops. Pick up your Australian throwing star and buy this 2005 Honda S2000 offered here on eBay
for $9,000 buy-it-now with a few hours to go, located in Riverside, CA.
Exactly 66 years ago on today (Sept 24th, 1948) the Honda Motor Corp was incorporated in Japan by Soichiro Honda. Honda started out making a motorized bicycle (nicknamed the Bata Bata for its engine sound) using surplus Tohatsu 2-stroke engines from radio generators, but they soon ran out of the engines and started making their own. It was from these humble beginnings, and only three years after multiple atomic bombs and uncountable quantities of conventional weapons had reduced the Land of the Rising Sun to shambles, that Honda in his 170 square foot workshack launched a commercial empire. Today, we are happy to produce a short segment on the best cars to ever be born from Dreams.
The Toyota Corolla GT-S AE86 is the closest thing you'll find to an 80s JDM legend this side of something like a Skyline. The AE86 was featured in something called Initial D, which according to wikipedia is a manga (Japanese comic book) but it also morphed into anime, cartoons and even arcade video console. Regardless of Japanese pop culture fame, the AE86 is going to be a collectible someday (if it isn't already), even if the original drivetrain has been tossed aside for something from a Honda. Find this 1986 Toyota Corolla GTS hatchback AE86 with Honda S2000 power offered for $15,000 CDN ($13,783 USD at time of printing) located in Saint-Lazare, QC, Canada via kijiji.ca. Tip and translation from Jeff B.
The Datsun 510 (known as the Bluebird outside the US & Canada) was
the Japanese equivalent of the BMW 2002 from parent company Nissan.
Like the 2002, they were built by the boatload, rusted instantly when
exposed to moisture and languished in a price range that put them just
inches from the crusher for decades. However, recently they have seen some price appreciation and even versions with unoriginal power-trains see some love. Find this 1972 Datsun 510 Sedan with F20C engine offered for $21,00 in Irvine, CA via craigslist. Tip from Brian.
Sometimes I find that reading an ad on ebay motors brings back memories of opening presents on Christmas morning. The prospect of a Datsun 510 with Honda S2000 power is like seeing a box shaped like a toy car or model rocket. Anticipation tingles at the tips of my fingers as I unwrap the packaging...car looks good, not donked, stanced or chopped...yes yes yes, it could be an RC truck...except that the car is located in Mexico and mostly incomplete...not a toy, it is church shoes again...drat. Find this 1971 Datsun 510 with Honda F22C1 Power
located in 
Wondering what happened to the screaming F20C engine and 6-spd gearbox from our last V8 swapped S2000 feature? We have the answer! Well, probably not the exact same drivetrain, but you get the idea. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Volvo's fuel injected B20E engine which came stock in the 1800ES shooting brake, but what if you want a bit more oomph than ~125hp can provide? There's always turbocharging, increased displacement, nitrous, individual throttle bodies, headers, etc. Then of course you could do an engine swap. We've seen V8s in these cars before, but an extremely light and high powered Honda 4-cylinder is completely counter to the cast iron pushrod tractor engine that the car was born with. But so what? The F20C is an awesome piece of F1-inspired engineering that revs to 9000 rpm and makes 240hp out of 2.0 liters - an incredible naturally aspirated specific power of 120bhp/L (Ferarri 458 Italia and Porsche GT3 territory). Find this 1973 Volvo 1800ES with S2000 drivetrain swap here on craigslist in Vallejo, CA for $20k.
The S2000 is a sublime car to drive fast. Its rock-solid suspension, 9000 rpm redline and snick-snick smooth 6-speed all worked in perfect harmony to create a car almost too good for the average joe...logically it was canceled and replaced with a big empty gap in Honda's lineup. One of the best parts of the S2000 was its crazy engine, but it is a bit low on power, so it only make sense that someone would drop a Chevy LS1 V8 between the fenders. Find this 2003 Honda S2000 LS1 V8 for sale in West Memphis, AR currently bidding for $11.300 with one day to go.
The Honda F20C engine from an AP1 S2000 is a modern marvel in mass production internal combustion engines. It employed an array of bespoke racing technology to obliterate similar sized naturally aspirated engines in power density and is known to last well into the 200k miles with minimal issues. The S2000 roadsters have dropped to a price point where a good crash will cause the car to get parted out, allowing all manner of plasma torch wielding mad scientists to use their greasy bits for transplants. Find this 1972 Datsun 510 w/F20C and 6-spd for sale in Raleigh, NC currently bidding on ebay for $8,000 with a 4 days to go.
The Honda S2000 is one of our favorite modern roadsters; it features an extremely rigid chassis and a high revving four-banger that translates to cat-like reflexes, but limited straight line speed. Turn the S2000 world upside down with this Chevy V8/automatic trans swapped riddler, a 2001 Honda S2000 with LS1 V8 and an automatic transmission, currently for sale in Knoxville, TN for $20,000 obo.
The Honda S2000 is a fantastic little convertible to take to an autocross, track day or just drive to work. It is low, fast and nimble, but also perfectly drivable in traffic and the only complaint may be that it drives too much like a Honda when the stock engine is below 7000 rpm. The seller of this 2000 Honda S2000 fixed that issue by stuffing a Chevy V8 under the hood and is now selling it via Oklahoma City craigslist. 
