2008 Honda S2000 CR

2008 Honda S2000 CR
What's your idea of retirement planning? At Car and Driver, our scribblers spend their golden years counting their air miles and grousing about the web interns. If you're Shigeru Uehara, Honda R&D's Executive Chief Engineer, you spend your last year on the job building a track-ready special-edition version of the S2000.

Lots of engineers build track toys, but not many get their cars approved for production. Uehara isn't just any engineer; he's credited as the father of the Honda S2000 and the Acura NSX and Integra type R, the trio that convinced a generation of American tuners and enthusiasts that Honda is a legitimate performance car company. Uehara’s legacy is solid, so he doesn’t need to work on the NSX's successor—he said through an interpreter that he's leaving that to the next generation. Instead, his final gift to the enthusiast world is the S2000 CR.
Suspension and steering modifications

The S2000 CR has the same 2.2-liter 237-hp engine as other S2000s, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's just a dress-up job. The most dramatic changes involve springs and shocks that Honda calls "significantly stiffer." Although no figures are available, our experience with Uehara's other creations like the Acura Integra type R tells us that he knows the meaning of "significant." Thicker anti-roll bars round out the suspension changes. A quicker steering ratio will allow drivers to avoid shuffling hands in tight corners. A limited slip differential and defeatable electronic stability control carry over from the regular S2000.
Tires

The S2000 CR's biggest handling gain over the regular S2000 may come from gumball Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tires similar to those used on the former Japan-market NSX-R. The 215/45R-17 front and 255/40R-17 rear tires have a treadwear rating of 140, which means they are barely able to be called conventional street tires.
2008 Honda S2000 CR
Front and rear spoilers

A ludicrously large body kit and a rear cowl fairing behind the seats are claimed to smooth airflow over the S2000 CR. But the most over-the-top aerodynamic modification is the massive rear spoiler. The wing has three distinct horizontal surfaces: the upturned outside sections produce downforce while a flatter center section smoothes airflow over the car. The whole affair is affixed with black supports that look more like a back yard racer's weekend concoction than factory pieces, but who are we to argue if it works? Honda claims overall downforce on the rear axle at speed, a rare trait for a street car.