Do you guys remember this strange looking car? Take a look back at our first meet with this crazy S2000. At the time we were completely astonished by what we saw. Some beautiful, dirty, unplugged, old fashioned prototyping was going on in front of our incredulous eyes. Somebody was turning the body of a Honda S2000 in something like a Le Mans type prototype.
Do you remember when we said that the two guys behind this project are well known S2000 experts? Well. With this work, they are really exceeding what has been done with every S2000 until now. When there are two great minds involved, usually one is the mind, while the other is the arm. This is no exception, because one of them (we will call him Akay San) is the one who theorized the concept, and came one day with the idea of building an extremely fast track car. The other (you will know him as Okashi San), is the one who puts into practice the mad scientist’s ideas. Well, not completely, by the moment that many things in this car are Okashi’s own ideas, and Akay is good with the wrench as he is good with the pencil but… “don’t let a few facts get in the way of a good story”, as somebody said.
As there are two guys involved in the project, there are two cars. The one that you saw in the previous blog entry, is being used for the bodywork, which will feature clam style hood and boot lids and will be made in composite materials, like a silhouette race car. The aero kit is still in development and there will be a lot of work in the future. What instead is going on really fast is the work on the chassis. And is here that the other car enters the scene.
As you can see, the car has been stripped… well in the true sense of the word! Nobody can recognize a Honda S2000 in this… thing. But Okashi San assured us that what remains is more than enough to have adequate stiffness.
To add safeness, other than stiffness, there is this weld-in roll cage and an this aluminium-made Kirkey race seat, with self made reinforced mounts. The roll cage has structural function and it is welded to the new (self made) boxed reinforcements of the rear strut towers.
Some material has been removed under the rear backstays, not just to lighten the whole thing, but also to modify the rear axle attachment points, raise the roll center and keep the suspensions working properly even with the car drastically lowered (this guys thinks about everything!), this will bring more responsiveness and will reduce the body roll. Some tubular reinforcements has been added in the front of the car, and the long, big reinforcement on top of the center tunnel has been removed, judged too heavy to stay there. With another advantage, having a lower center tunnel, you can lower the driver seat too, keeping good ergonomics in operating the shifter lever.
Even if the S2000 chassis is already incredibly well reinforced, with factory made weld beads in the critical points and lots of steel just where you need it, some more reinforcements and seam welding will be added in the near future, as the work on the chassis is still to be finished. What we can tell you, is that this is some of the best race car building we have seen so far. There will be more to talk about in the future, but the premises are really tasty.
What? You want to know about the engine? Ok, die hard Honda fans, now is the moment to leave the page if you want to sleep soundly for the rest of your life.
Still here? Ok, maybe you are as open minded and pragmatic as Akay San and Okashi San, because they decided to go with a Nissan SR20DET for the power unit.
Why? It is pretty simple, as Okashi San said, with the turbo, it makes a lot more HP, and a lot more easily, than a refined naturally aspirated work of art like the Honda F20C. Furthermore, it is light, compact, and fits perfectly in the S2000 engine compartment. And with all this work on the car, you can be sure that even the engine will not be your average SR20. But we will talk about it the next time. For now, enjoy the pics, comment, spread the word, and keep following us!
Watch the full gallery HERE