An Amuse GT1 widebody S2000 sat next to a genuine Spoon Sports Super Taikyu race car, this isn't something you see everyday, if not ever! Both have proper JDM lore behind them, and both are a reminder of just how far the S2000 platform can be pushed.
Why the S2000 Deserves Its Reputation
Honda launched the S2000 in 1999 to mark the company's 50th anniversary, and it has spent every year since being quietly underrated. The name is simple enough, "S" for sport, "2000" for the engine's 2.0 litre displacement, continuing a lineage that goes back to the S500, S600 and S800 roadsters of the 1960s.
The chief engineer on the project was Shigeru Uehara, the same engineer who led the Honda NSX project. That is not a coincidence worth glossing over. The S2000 was built by the same engineering mindset that gave Honda its first supercar, just distilled into a smaller, front mid engine roadster with a 50:50 weight distribution. Call it the NSX's baby brother and you would not be far wrong.
The F20C engine under the bonnet is the real party piece. A naturally aspirated 2.0 litre four cylinder revving as high as 9,000rpm depending on the model, it produced up to 250PS in its highest state of tune, which worked out to the highest specific power output per litre of any naturally aspirated production car engine in the world, a record it held for 11 years until Ferrari's 458 Italia came along and took it. The really interesting bit is how binary the power delivery is, VTEC does not even switch to its higher cam profile until around 6,100rpm, which means the last few thousand revs before the limiter feel like an entirely different engine to the one you were pottering around town in five minutes earlier. Honda even styled the dashboard after its McLaren Honda Formula 1 cars from the late eighties and early nineties, a small detail that tells you exactly what kind of driving experience they were chasing.
Production ran until 2009, and in that time the S2000 built a reputation as one of the most complete, driver focused platforms Honda ever made. It is exactly the sort of car that responds brilliantly to the right modifications, which brings us to these two.
Who Are Amuse
Amuse is a Japanese tuning house based in Yokohama, best known for engineering led builds on JDM and Honda platforms. Their reputation was built on cars that back up their looks with genuine chassis and powertrain work, and the S2000 has long been one of their most iconic platforms to be developed on.
About the Honda S2000 GT1
The Amuse GT1 takes the S2000 and reworks it with a full widebody kit inspired by international GT racing silhouettes, wider arches, aggressive aero and a stance that makes it instantly recognisable at any meet. It has become one of the most photographed S2000 builds in the world, and seeing one in the flesh next to a standard car makes it obvious just how much has changed underneath the bodywork.
This particular example is a 1999 AP1, finished in Mazda Sunburst Yellow. The aesthetic is finished off with a custom dry carbon bonnet, the Honda factory hardtop, ASM wing mirrors and a custom dry carbon rear wing on carbon struts, with a full LED bulb conversion modernising the look and furthering its racer appearance.
Additional modifications include Tein Flex Z coilovers alongside Nagisa Auto front fender braces and Advan AD09 tyres, with a Cusco brake cylinder stopper, a CS Ohara solid steering shaft spacer and a Hel braided clutch line rounding out a chassis built to match the widebody stance rather than just look the part. The car sits on a set of RAYS Volk Racing TE37SLs and runs a Tomei Expreme Ti exhaust, Tomei titanium decat pipe and Tomei titanium cat back for a soundtrack that matches the looks.
A lightweight flywheel and Spoon 4.44 final drive sharpen its response, while J's Racing drive shaft spacers round out the drivetrain. Inside it is mostly standard, with the factory seats and original steering wheel left in place. The only touches are a Spoon Sports rear view mirror and an ASM shifter boot.
About the Honda Spoon Sports S2000
This S2000 was built by Spoon from the ground up as a Super Taikyu race car. The aero, drivetrain, suspension and interior exist for one reason. In Super Taikyu competition the engine ran in stock specification, which puts the 2015 results into context. A podium at Sugo and an outright win at the Fuji 8 Hours came from chassis development, driver skill and setup, not from additional power.
Amuse GT1 vs Spoon Sports Super Taikyu
| Category | Amuse GT1 | Spoon Sports Super Taikyu |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Show and street, widebody stance | Super Taikyu competition |
| Base | 1999 AP1 | AP1 |
| Engine | Standard F20C | Spoon F20C Assembly, run in stock specification for competition |
| Power output | 240 PS | 270 PS |
| ECU | Standard | Motec |
| Suspension | Tein Flex Z coilovers, Nagisa Auto front fender braces | KYB Race Specification |
| Drivetrain | Lightweight flywheel, Spoon 4.44 final drive, J's Racing drive shaft spacers | Spoon LSD, Spoon Clutch, Spoon Driveshaft, Spoon Prop Shaft |
| Exhaust | Tomei Expreme Ti, titanium decat pipe and cat back | Not specified |
| Wheels | RAYS Volk Racing TE37SL | Prodrive |
| Aero | Custom dry carbon bonnet, custom dry carbon rear wing on carbon struts, ASM mirrors | AP1 aero bumper front and rear, S-Tai AP1 bonnet, S-Tai fresh air duct |
| Interior | Factory seats and steering wheel retained, Spoon mirror glass, ASM shifter boot | Spoon Carbon bucket seat, stripped interior |
Two Cars, One Legendary Platform
Put the Amuse GT1 and the Spoon Sports Super Taikyu car side by side and you get the full range of what the S2000 is capable of. One is built to turn heads at a car meet, the other was built to win at Fuji and Sugo without touching the engine. Same starting point, same chassis codes, completely different outcome.
Which one would you have?
