Nipponese open-air driving is defined by the latest Mazda MX-5 and the last Honda S2000.
NEITHER the toaster nor the roadster was invented by the Japanese, but they did reinvent the retro roadster with the original Mazda MX-5, launched in 1989.
Also known as the Miata (in the USA) and Eunos Roadster (in Japan), it’s the classic British roadster reborn as a basic Japanese runabout, with charming styling, nimble rear-wheel- drive handling and a foolproof fabric roof. It remains one of Mazda’s greatest hits.
The 1998 sequel is arguably less great, even though the second-generation MX-5 is as nice to drive as its predecessor.
At the same time, it’s a bit bigger/roomier, slightly quicker and a little quieter (thanks partly to the upgrade of the rear window from plastic to glass).
The design is less pretty, though, with generic fixed headlights in place of pretty pop-ups, side mirror housings that are no longer lovely oval in shape, and ordinary external door handles instead of cool chrome openers.
In 1999, spurred by the commercial success and critical acclaim of the first MX-5, Honda and Toyota released their rival roadsters – the S2000 and MR-S. Mazda’s monopoly on wind-swept hair and sunlit sunglasses was over.
The S2000 is one of Honda’s 50th birthday presents, to be opened (like the snappy powered roof) by petrolheads who might not recall or care about the vintage S500/S600.
It’s a serious sports car with similarly no-nonsense pricing – when it went on sale in Honda’s home market, the S2000 cost over a million yen more than the most expensive MX-5 variant, the 1.8-litre 6-speed manual VS.
The price difference was enough to buy a brand new kei-class hatchback, such as a Mazda Carol or Honda Life.
This story was supposed to include an MR-S (see sidebar on facing page), but the owner sprained his back and was unable to drive his trusty Toy to our shoot.
Yes, these low-slung Japanese sports cars require a certain dexterity from their drivers, who might not be as sporty as the dudes seen in the Gatsby ads.
Finding a clean-cut, standard-spec Honda performance model in Singapore is as difficult as spotting an ah lian at Bugis Junction who doesn’t have coloured/rebonded hair.
So the 2007 S2000 you see on these pages has a few mods, but it’s otherwise about as clean as it gets for a nine-year- old two-seater that has seen its share of racing/revving/rounding and served a variety of PMEBs (professionals, managers, executives and bengs).
Looking at the old white S2K and the new white MX-5, side by side for the first time, I feel an urge… to drive either vehicle to the nearest Daiso and get some snacks made in Japan.
Tasty, high in quality and slightly addictive, Japanese finger food is good, and so are these Japanese roadsters, whose “road” to fun in the sun started in the Land of the Rising Sun. It’s a freshly paved road for the fourth-generation 2-litre MX-5 here, which has returned to the “fun-damentals” of topless motoring that made the 1989 original so memorable – low weight, high agility, simple pleasures behind the wheel.
Toyota’s topless
When Toyota introduced the MR-S in 1999 as the alfresco replacement for the MR2, it was around the same price as the entry-level 1.6-litre MX-5, making the mid-engine 1.8-litre Toyota sportster one of the cheapest “exoticars” of the era.
It was one of the lightest, too, giving it a better power-to-weight ratio (140bhp/970kg) than the 1.8-litre MX-5 (145bhp/1030kg).
Here in Singapore, the rare MR-S belonged to the golden age of racy Japanese machines and occupied Toyota’s grey-import niche alongside the Celica. Today, the roadster is an even rarer sight on local roads. If you were to search for “MRS” on Sgcarmart, only a handful would show up, compared to about 20 units if you were to type “MX-5” into the search box.
It’s a well travelled road for the S2000, whose power and performance are sky-high compared to the Mazda’s.
In its original 2-litre AP1 form, the S2000 produces 240bhp and 208Nm, and revs to a redline of 9000rpm, plus a few hundred rpm more before the rev limiter cuts in. In its later 2.2-litre AP2 form (like the example here), complete with a drive-by-wire throttle, the S2000 produces 242bhp and 221Nm, and still revs to ludicrous levels.
The Honda is a whole lot faster than the Mazda, sprinting to 100km/h from a standstill in just over 6 seconds, compared to the 2-litre MX-5’s 7.3.
Even the Honda’s roof system is fast, converting the car in 6 seconds flat (without counting the short time it takes to latch/unlatch the roof). The MX-5’s soft-top is a manual affair that’s easy to drop/raise in a matter of seconds – less than 10 if you’re “handy” with your arms, slower if you tend to be all thumbs.
What the defunct S2000 can do that the 2016 MX-5 cannot is let me party like it’s 1999. At the turn of the century, there were enough hot Hondas to give this “20someTing” driver a permanent fever.
Besides the awesome S2000, I was also blown away by the incredible Integra Type R (three-door DC2 and four-door DB8), the peculiar Prelude and the stirring Civic SiR (hatchback and saloon). I even bought myself a 1999 EK9 Civic Type R at one stage. Too bad I never had the chance to drive an NSX, the hottest Honda of all.
I remember my driving experiences in all four generations of the Mazda MX-5. I adore the first-gen NA, dislike the second-gen NB, like the third-gen NC and love the current ND, especially in sweet 6-speed manual guise.
All four MX-5s are roadster heroes from Hiroshima, although the NB model is less heroic than the rest, in my opinion.
Going from zero to hero (or 100km/h) is a breeze in either the new MX-5 or old S2000. It’ll be breezy, too, when enjoying openair driving in these wind-swept Nipponese roadsters.
All nippon airways, too
Used S2000s are thin on the local ground. But an alternative Honda roadster is available as an imported used car – the S660.
It’s a turbocharged mid-engine, rear-drive, 6-speed manual 658cc 3-cylinder micro roadster with a lightweight, detachable “roll-top” and a design concept called “energetic bullet”.
Honda’s new-age Beat isn’t the only new kei-class convertible in the market, with Daihatsu also selling three Copen models (Xplay, Robe and Cero) in Japan. The cute car can be ordered as a parallel import in Singapore.
The little two-seater has a retractable hard-top and interchangeable resin body panels (except the doors), which allow the owner to customise the look of his Copen with Daihatsu-supplied components, right down to headlights and tail-lamps.
Like the S660, the Copen is powered by a turbo 658cc 3-cylinder and can be specified with a CVT automatic.
“Going from zero to hero is a breeze in either the new mx-5 or the old s2000, and it’ll be breezy, too”.
