Quote:
Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k
I'm more than happy to answer that question. Yes the S2000's MSRP was $34,500 (at the end in 2009, slightly less before that) but you could almost always buy it below MSRP. I actually did not buy mine new. Rather I picked it up one year old with less than 5,000 miles on the odometer for $21,500. I paid an extra $1400 to extend the warranty to 100k miles and voila here we are.
"Only 40 hp"? It's a 20% increase in horsepower. which is not insignificant on a vehicle this light. It also has a more flexible and wide ranging power band thanks to the 8000/9000 (AP1/AP2) rpm red line and a better transmission.
If you say my comparison isn't fair because I bought my S2000 used then I ask you this. The S2000 debuted in 1999, and is now a 13 year old design. In 13 years time is it asking too much for a new sports car to match that type of performance? The S2000 was faster (and admittedly more expensive than the Mustang GT) when it came out. With the advent of the 5.0 Fox motor the Mustang GT finally surpassed the S2000's performance while still costing less. So you can see the GT evolved quite well. You would think that a motoring giant such as Toyota could build a less complex S2000 "clone" of sorts 13 years later at a lower price with matching performance. (The omission of a sky high redline and no convertible top alone should save several thousand dollars.) In my eyes that is not asking too much.
If the FR-S came out with 220hp for 25,000 or 240 hp for 27,000 I wouldn't be criticizing it at all. But no, instead it has 200 hp for barely less than 25,000.
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I agree with you on this and mostly everything your saying. But I realize it is the Japanese way of doing things. In 2020 I bet there will still be a 180-200 hp/130-150 tq car still from Japan with 2700+ lbs. The progress will never be in power for the Japs. It seems to be a European/American thing. And one other thing the Mustang was faster than a S2K before the 5.0 in the 2005 4.6l 300hp/320 tq models.