Topless, Built, and Fast

Looking at the tight, aggressive body, nobody believes it's a Honda. But the S2000 sports car is a Honda in every good meaning of the word.

It's billet-solid, the least flexible droptop we've ever driven. Handling and steering are natural extensions of your body. Firm, contoured seats keep you in the right place. And imaginative switchgear design lets you identify and control most ancillary functions with your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

It's a six-speed screamer, built to match up to the BMW Z3 and Mazda Miata. Which it does, thanks to cutting-edge engineering in the engine compartment, splendid balance, and solid chassis tuning. And while a $30,000 Honda may not be your cup of tea, that's one with everything. Your price may vary.

And if they'd put a roof on it and call it CRX... Look out, 3-series.

Redline 9000

That's right, the Honda S2000's engine revs like a motorcycle. Not too surprising, given the company's history. Between two-wheelers and 15,000 rpm Formula 1racing engines, Honda knows how to make engines that spin like hard drives - and last.

Even a more astounding achievement is that engine's output - 240 horsepower from 2 liters. That's more horsepower per normally aspirated liter than you can buy on any other car, period.

Yet the S2000's technology doesn't stop there. The suspension is - and feels - as sophisticated as anything this isde of a race track. Careful aerodynamic work means you can carry on a normal conversation with the top down at highway speed. And you won't need your hairdresser waiting at the other end.

Honda's gearboxes are legendary, and the S2000's six-speed enhances the legend. Snick, snick, snick, short clean throws, and the landscape recedes in the mirror.

Think of it as a go-kart with an extra seat and a trunk.