Honda's S2000 may not be the newest thing on the market, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy to improve upon. The balance is sublime, the driving environment is nearly perfect, and it really comes alive after 6,000 rpm. Fashion probably drives the automotive landscape more than technical superiority, so Honda's been working on a replacement for its S2000. While the Open Study Model that broke cover in London is officially a design study, conjecture holds that it may portend the direction of Honda design language, even though Honda insists that the OSM is not the successor to the S2000. Road and Track has whipped up a rendering that doesn't look any better than the current S2000's purity of line, but seems a credible stab at how an S3000 may appear. There's a bit too much Acura TL in the lines for our tastes, and the thought of a V6 from the same car thrumming under the coupe's hood doesn't set our enthusiast hearts a-beating. Much of the fun in an S2000 is keeping the high-output four cylinder on boil. A wealth of low-end torque would drastically change the car's character, likely not for the better. Since it's all conjecture anyway, we'll also throw out the chatter about possible hybrid powertrain for this model, too. While reality will answer all of this speculation eventually, we're just going to have to spend the ensuing days getting as much seat time as we can in the S2000.
Honda says that the OSM roadster on display at the 2008 British Motor Show is merely a design study, but given that "design study" is frequently a euphemism for "future design language," we wonder if we're seeing the next iteration of Honda car styling. Frankly, we hope so, because this is worlds better than what we've seen from the automaker of late, from the Accord right on up to the bland and bloated Pilot. The OSM, short for Open Study Model, is a shapely two-seat convertible that we'd be happy to drive today. Well, maybe with headlamps that weren't lightsaber-sized. Other than that, we love the jaunty look, especially in back, where the taillamps sweep gently from one side of the car to the other. Since it's a styling exercise, there's no specific powertrain combination associated with it, but Honda assures us that the car is an indication that lightweight, low-emissions motoring needn't be boring. No kidding, guys. Inside, the cockpit basically evolves the two-tier instrument panel you'll find in the current Civic into a far more attractive driving environment that we hope to see in road cars sooner than later. While Honda says there's no plan to create a production sport/econo roadster like this anytime soon, somebody's obviously thinking about it. Future S2000 replacement, maybe? "Design studies" such as this don't happen by accident.
The London Motor Show opens up on July 22nd and with it, comes a new concept from Honda, the Open Study Model or OSM. The lightweight, two-seater, open-air sports car is another design study by Honda that attempts to blend performance and sustainable motoring into a comprehensive package. Designed by Honda's R&D center in Offenbach, Germany, the OSM is a vehicle in the same environmentally friendly vein as the CR-Z concept unveiled in Tokyo last year, considered to be a low emissions alternative to the traditional sports coupe.
The CR-Z is still slated to be released sometime next year, but Honda insists that the OSM is strictly a design study and is not confirmed for production. However, as OSM (read: awesome) as it may be, it's not the next S2000, according to Honda spokesperson Steve Kirk.
If we were in charge of Tokyo's inner city expressway we probably wouldn't use the Shutoko racer's favorite weapon of choice to promote safe driving. Scratch that, we probably would, but we're amazed that the owners of the Wangan got themselves a new GT-R to publicize their current Tokyo Smart Driver Campaign.
If the fact that this R35 will spend its life pootling along the highway at 80km/h doesn't make you sick to the bottom of your stomach, the Tokyo Smart Driver website certainly will. Truly vomit worthy.
