Honda S2000 Coupe Independent Concept Study Looks the Part

Not many of you were excited with the prospect of an all-wheel drive, 2+2 hybrid coupe replacement for the Honda S2000 as are the rumors currently circulating in Japan. Then how about an evolution of today's S2000 roadster with a fixed hardtop and some serious styling changes that include a Nissan GT-R-like snout, a rounded but, concave body surfacing and a pair of xtra large side air-vents? Pretty cool, wouldn't you agree? The artist responsible for creating these computer generated images of the S2000 Coupe Concept is actually the same person that crafted the alluring Subaru Impreza WRX STI three-door study that we showed you earlier today and who goes by the alias 'Grid'. Hit the jump to view the complete gallery.

Source: 3dluvr/Grid

Honda S2000 Successor Rumored to Get AWD and Hybrid Powertrain

Earlier this year, Honda announced that the S2000 Roadster's decade-long production run will come to an end this year, leaving the company without a proper sports car. However, in addition to the launch of the production version of the front-wheel drive CR-Z hybrid small coupe in 2010, Japan's Best Car is now reporting that Honda is also working on a larger and more powerful coupe that would essentially act as a replacement to the S2000. The magazine claims that the 2+2 coupe would ditch the S2000's rear-wheel drive layout for the firm's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system (SH-AWD).

Furthermore, it is said in the report that the sports coupe will benefit from a hybrid system similar to the ones used on Honda's Insight and Civic IMA hybrid cars. No word on if the S2000 replacement would use a high-rev 4-cylinder or go for a larger displacement V6 petrol engine.

Officially, Honda has given the green light to the CR-Z hybrid sports car while the Japanese firm announced the cancelation of its V10-powered NSX successor at the end of 2008 due to the economic crisis. Honda has made no announcement whatsoever on a S2000 replacement.

So what do we think about Best Car's report? It isn't the first time we've been hearing rumours about a Honda sports car of this type, and it sure ain't the last. A high-performance 2+2 Hybrid Coupe with AWD does sound interesting and more vitally, feasible, but for the time being we'll keep this story in the grapevine.

Via: Best Car