Honda reportedly kills S2000 replacement, V8 program, RWD Acuras

[Nodz86]

Honda reportedly kills S2000 replacement, V8 program, RWD Acuras
by Damon Lavrinc on Jan 6th 2009 at 12:58PM

Honda's attempt to right-size its development schedule and cope with the economic downturn apparently extends beyond the cancellation of the next NSX. According to Autocar, HoMoCo is right-sizing its plans for the next two years, and that includes rethinking the development of a range of rear-wheel-drive Acuras, a new V8, a convertible based on the CR-Z and the S2000's successor.

Acura seems to be carrying the weight of the bad news, with its RWD 7-series rival, originally due out in 2015, cancelled indefinitely, along with development of a V8 engine that would allow the brand to compete with the best and brightest from Germany. The Euro-market Legend could also be on the block and there's a chance that Honda will stop developing two separate Accord models for sale in the U.S. and abroad, instead opting for one mid-size sedan to be sold worldwide.

Unfortunately, the development cease-fire also extends to Honda's smaller offerings. Honda planned to release a drop-top version of its CR-Z after the hybrid goes on sale next year, but that model has been nixed. Even more disturbingly, 2009 will be the last year of production for the S2000, with no heir apparent waiting in the wings.

 

advertisement

We're hoping to get more details on the cut-backs as the week progresses, but needless to say, there's more than enough disappointment to go around.

[Source: Autocar]

From Autoblog

[DriftNismo]

Wow, it just doesn't get any better with Honda/Acura, does it? Hopefully they'll surprise us with something nice soon...

[Car Freak]

Has the economic crisis really hit them that hard? Or do you think they're just playing waaaayy too safe?

[HavockJoker]

Booo. I love the S2000. Honda needs to rethink their plans.

[YeOldeTDUMan]

Has the economic crisis really hit them that hard? Or do you think they're just playing waaaayy too safe?

Yes the climate is THAT bad

I could name lots of vehicle programmes for lots of car companies that have either been canned or have be 'delayed' (read work has stopped and hopefully will restart at some point) ... but obviously I can't mention what they are

[KoenigseggBG]

Really bad news...I loved that S200 replacement...

[Shy Guy]

Well, at least we don't need to worry about Honda making the S3000 ugly, the S2000 was always a nice car, and I wish Honda would make a better Acura grille and make more RWD cars