What was the predecessor to the Honda S2000?
There wasn’t a single direct predecessor model. The Honda S2000 signaled a revival of Honda’s two-seat roadster idea and is generally tied to the brand’s historic S-series roadsters from the 1960s rather than to one immediate prior car.
Historical context
To understand the S2000’s place in Honda’s lineup, it helps to look at the brand’s past two-seat roadsters. In the 1960s Honda produced a trio of small, light, rear-wheel-drive roadsters—the S500, S600, and S800—that established a tradition of compact sports cars for enthusiasts. The S2000 inherits that spirit, serving as a modern rebirth of Honda’s lightweight, driver-focused roadster concept, rather than a direct continuation of a single earlier model.
Closest predecessors in Honda's lineage
Below are the models most commonly cited as the nearest historical predecessors to the S2000 in terms of lineage and spirit, rather than a direct one-to-one replacement.
- Honda S500 (early- to mid-1960s roadster)
- Honda S600 (mid-1960s roadster)
- Honda S800 (late-1960s roadster)
These early S-series roadsters helped establish Honda’s reputation for light, nimble, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive convertibles, a formula the S2000 later revived with contemporary engineering.
Alternative perspectives on its lineage
Some observers frame the S2000 within Honda’s broader sports-car history by noting the NSX as a related milestone in Honda’s modern performance lineup, though the NSX sits in a different category as a mid-engine supercar rather than a direct predecessor to the S2000. In Japan, other tiny roadsters like the Beat also illustrate Honda’s ongoing interest in open-top, two-seat cars, but they do not constitute direct predecessors in the S2000’s sense of lineage.
Summary
In summary, the Honda S2000 does not have a single direct predecessor. Its closest historical relatives are Honda’s 1960s S-series roadsters—the S500, S600, and S800—whose spirit and lightweight, driver-focused design informed Honda’s modern two-seat roadster revival in 1999. The S2000 stands as a refreshed interpretation of that tradition rather than the direct successor to a specific earlier model.
