Electric cars are the future and there is no denying that. And the electric revolution has also caught up with the modified community as well. Many tuners and custom shops are building (or more precisely transforming) classics into future-proof EVs. Yes, we know that it sounds barbaric to disrupt the natural flow of things.
But in this case, conversions are the need of the hour. We gave you insight on a rad 300 HP Tesla-swapped 1967 Austin Mini a few days back. Another such splitting conversion job was recently showcased on Hoonigan's YouTube channel. It was a neo-retro-looking Honda S2000 but with an electric powertrain. The project was done by Ryan and his team from Rywire Motorsports Electronics.
Using parts from a Tesla Model S and a Chevy Volt Hybrid, they managed to juice out 500 horses from this white S2000 EV. The conversion wasn't easy, with a lot of cutting and welding required to house the electric motor and battery packs neatly into the iconic roadster form factor. But the outcome was an impressive marriage of 90s sports car spirit and future-ready mechanicals.
No V-TEC kicks for this Honda S2000.
Playing With Fire By Converting The Iconic Honda S2000 Into An EV
The Honda S2000 is an iconic JDM machine. This car was known for its high-revving V-TEC motor that would get out of bed only after 7,000 rpm and redlined at 9,000 rpm. The result is a glorious exhaust note at the top end and an eye-opening driving experience with the two-door top-down layout. And this car has a mad fan-following in the modified world because of its insane potential for performance and style bumps.
Now, if you tell someone that you are planning to swap this Godly motor for a silent battery pack in the S2000. The chances of you getting stabbed are very high! But the dudes from Rywire Motorsports Electronics took that chance and made an S2000 minus the V-TEC motor and that glorious exhaust note.
Batteries From A Chevy Volt Hybrid And Electric Motor From A Tesla
The engine and gearbox were swapped for an electric motor from the Tesla Model S P100D and batteries from a Chevrolet Volt Hybrid. The battery pack is rated at 38 kWh, which is capable of providing a driving range of 100-120 miles (when not driven like a Honda S2000!).
The Tesla-sourced motor is located at the rear and sends out 500 horses to the rear wheels. Instead of using Tesla's native control unit, the guys from Rywire swapped to for a standalone AEM control unit which takes all the update mess out of the picture.
That is more than double what you got when "V-TEC kicked in". Getting an electric powertrain to marry this old school car wasn't an easy task for the guys from Rywire. The team had to fit in an electrically-assisted master cylinder with an artificial vacuum due to the absence of an engine to do so. The rear subframe was modified and widened by eight inches to house the Tesla motor and built-in transmission.
To keep things tame, this electric S2000 gets an old-school Quaife limited-slip differential. The clever positioning of its electric motor at the rear, and the battery pack upfront, helped Rywire come close to the golden 50:50 weight ratio. Brakes have been upgraded and this S2000 uses Stop Tech's magic to get the bite right.
This Is What A Honda S2000 From The Future Would Look Like
Rywire has done an impressive job at keeping the classic form factor intact while adding a few futuristic touches. The basic design remains the same with the low-slung long hood format being retained. To give it an electric-car appeal, the guys from Rywire revamped the front fascia with a slotted bumper akin to that seen on the Volkswagen I.D. Buzz.
Nostalgia hits hard with the original CR splitter is integrated well into this EV-ish front face. But the cooler exterior bit has to be the custom-built aerodynamic wheels with a single opening to help cool those performance Stop-Tech brakes. It gets a cool icy white paint job with blue livery highlighting its electrifying appeal. It also flaunts the S2000 CR's OEM tonneau cover.
Subtle But Cool Changes To The S2000's Stock Interior
Open the doors, and you are treated to a custom door sill plate imprinted with "EV S2000". The interior is a time capsule but with a few modern technology bits. It packs the original factory Sparco sports seats in red and black. The interior is wrapped in Alcantara as well. The dashboard is stock, but gets the original futuristic instrument cluster replaced with an AEM all-digital unit.
Another neat interior mod is the tiny drive selector that goes unnoticed. The steering wheel is from Sparco and layered in Alcantara. It is impressive how Ryan and his team at Rywire have managed to infuse modern tech without disrupting this classic and sporty interior.
Not The First Honda S2000 On Electrodes But The Coolest For Sure
This isn't exactly the first Honda S2000 eclectic conversion kit using Tesla parts. Jason Hughes of 057 Technology did that three years ago. And that beast ran the quarter-mile in 10 seconds flat. That was a full-on performance build with 636 hp on tap. This one right here by Rywire is a more mature and daily-drivable setup.
Also, it looks cooler courtesy of that electrifying paint job and those aero wheels. Ryan plans to keep this S2000 street-legal and drive it around enough to collect data and fine-tune the setup for possible future conversion kits. Love it or hate it. The Rywire team has nailed it at bridging the past and the evolving present.
Sources: Youtube.com/ Hoonigan, Carscoops.com, Carbuzz.com, Autoevolution.com