Honda is reportedly preparing a successor to the iconic S2000 roadster to celebrate its 75th anniversary

Sharp Civic Type R aside, it might seem that Honda has somewhat forgotten its sports car past. The S2000, adored by fans to this day, has been waiting in vain for a successor since 2009, when its production ended ten years after its introduction.

However, according to UK website Autocar, that wait may soon be over. Honda is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion, it is set to unveil a new sports car that could be the spiritual successor to the legendary S2000. This follows from the words of Tom Gardner, vice president of the European division.

“We have a very strong foundation in terms of technology. And it’s not technology just for the sake of it, it’s technology that really brings value to customers,” he told the website, adding that customer response to the new generation Civic Type R has been overwhelmingly positive.

He basically didn’t say anything specific about the sports car – neither the position in the portfolio, nor the drive method. But he indicated that its arrival is imminent: “The year 2023 means 75 years, and we had the S2000 at fifty, so who knows.”

Additionally, calls for a reincarnation of the S2000, as well as hints that such a thing might be in the works, have been around for several years. In 2017, then-CEO Takahiro Hachigo said that “Honda’s developers will handle the sports car quickly when the demand is there.”

“There are more and more voices from around the world wanting to reinvent the S2000, but the time is not yet ripe. We need time to decide. If the sales department does a survey, looks at it and they really want to do it, we’ll look at it,” Hačigo added at the time.

Honda has previously announced that it is working on an electric successor to the NSX hybrid model and a new flagship model that will fall into the GT class. These cars are to be part of a wave of thirty new electric cars that the automaker wants to put on sale worldwide by 2030. In addition, one of the chief engineers Hideki Kakinuma recently let it be known that “there is no Honda without the Type R”, suggesting that there is room for sharp cars even in the era of electrification.