Quote:
Originally Posted by herbz
S2000 is a great car, no doubt about it. but there are several things that prevent me from giving it "full credit" where credit is due.
1. The pricetag is enormous (over 35k? 135i please) for a car with 200hp and virtually 0 torque.
2. it's a convertible, if they made a coupe version the chassis would be even better than it already is.
3. again the car has 0 torque. driving this car as an everyday driver would be annoying as hell. i'd have to downshift to 6k RPM to beat a toyota camry. hell, could the s2000 even beat a camry on the straight? i kind of doubt it.
not dissing the s2000's track ability, as it is lightweight, RWD, has a great shifter, clutch, engine with a huge redline etc. but i would not pay over 35 grand to have this car as an every day driver, there are just too many drawbacks.
and yes i do like small cars, i drive an e30. just my opinion.
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you are entitled to your opinion but a great deal of what you said is simply not true. i'll address point by point...
1. the pricetag, retail price on the car is $34,600. not "over" $35,000. and at that, they can be had at any dealership for invoice all day long which is only $29,900. seconds, the car has 240 or 237 HP depending on model years. and when considering the weight, the power to weight ratio is actually better than that of a 335i. 11.6 lbs./hp for the S2000 and 12lbs./hp for the 335i. furthermore, regarding torque, look at any M car, the torque on those is an absolute joke compared to their HP/L. and at that, MOST track cars have far more HP than torque because torque is good for exiting turns, but too much torque at corner entry or through the apex diminishes stability. obviously, you have never driven one as an everyday driver based on your completely incorrect assumption that it would be hell... 80% of it's torque is available at 4000 RPM's which is very good for an engine of that redline/Compression ration.
2. maybe, maybe not, the fact of the matter is that the S2000 is the second most rigid convertible ever produced, next to a 996 Turbo S Vert, which actually has MORE torsional rigidity than the coupe version due to it's many body reinforcements and braces. if you knew about chassis design, you would see that the S2000 is the best designed roofless chassis ever, simply because it doesn't rely on any braces of cross members for its rigidity, the chassis is designed AS a convertible, it is not like convertible variants of coupes where they have to compensate for the lack of the roof, therefore your argument is moot.
3. you have obviously never REALLY driven an S2000....the thing absolutely hauls ass above 80MPH and it reaches 161MPH FAR faster than my buddies SC 330. the car is a purely high revving screaming at high RPM's and is hard to keep up with for many cars much more expensive. this car literally defies the top end displacement argument, how? i do not know. and you obviously have never driven one of a track because the only thing that BMW even currently makes that is at all remotely comparable in handling is the M Coupe.