Review of the new Honda S2000 Edition 100

And so it ends. With over 110,000 examples sold worldwide and nearly 8,000 sales in the UK, Honda is finally finishing production of its iconic S2000 roadster. It leaves British showrooms with a special version, the Edition 100.

Before we get onto the Edition 100 details, it's worth reminding ourselves just how much Honda has been continually fettling this car in recent years. Re-tuned dampers, uprated springs and thicker anti-roll bars have given the car greater stability, agile handling and more responsive steering to help harness the S2000's high-revving 240PS 2.0-litre i-VTEC engine. In short, this sportster is now a great deal more accessible to the uninitiated than it was before. If you've ignored it in the past, it deserves a second chance.

Although the original S2000 did things that no other car could do, it also did a few that weren't always desirable. A colleague of mine bought one as his first track day car only to trolley it into the tyre wall at Brands Hatch on its first outing. 'Tail happy' would be an apt description of the original S2000 and even in the hands of experienced pilots, the combination of aggressive rear suspension, spiky power delivery and a rather peppy electric steering system always kept you on your toes. In the wet, it crossed the line from challenging to occasionally frightening.

Thanks to the recent changes and the revised throttle and the VSA stability system introduced a few years back, that's no longer the case. VSA is designed to help the driver keep control during cornering, acceleration and sudden manoeuvres. It works by applying brake force to different wheels as necessary and managing the throttle and ignition systems.

It isn't all about electronics though. In recent times, the rear suspension has been made a good deal more pliant with softer springs and dampers and a less rigid anti roll bar. This reduces the amount of 'bump steer' - the effect when the wheels steer themselves without input from the steering wheel - and results in a more benign back end with greater stability and roadholding.

If you haven't driven an S2000 for some time, you'll also notice that the electric power steering is slightly slower (giving a more intuitive feel) and the chassis is more rigid than (to allow the suspension to work optimally). You might also note that the ABS system is more intuitive, so that it deals more intelligently with situations where levels of surface grip differ between one wheel and another: in other words, thanks to this, the car is not so prone to spinning under braking.

"The latest S2000 benefits from a number of changes that have gone a significant way to taming its handling"

And the Edition 100 version? Well, only 100 of these special edition roadsters will be sold in the UK, priced at just under £30,000. The engine is unchanged but in this guise, you get it with a Grand Prix White body and graphite effect alloy wheels. The new paint job evokes memories of Honda's first F1 car from 1964 as well as many sporting models since. The exterior colour, dark metal alloy wheels and a unique black S2000 badge give the timeless roadster a fresh look.

Inside, red leather interior, red stitching on the gear lever gaiter and aluminium gear knob that's unique to the model, complete the racing look. Edition 100 models will be marked out by their individual numbered plaques on the kick-plates, denoting their position in the final series.

Otherwise, it's as you were. And that's no bad thing. At full chat, the sound of this car is intoxicating. Mind you, own an S2000 and you're going to be driving at full chat rather a lot. Not only because everything about it induces you to do so - though it does. No, more because you have to thrash the thing to within an inch of its life before anything really happens down below. Only from 7,000rpm onwards does the acceleration really begin to swell. Yes, you read that right - 7,000rpm onwards. Most ordinary cars don't even function at this level. Not that the majority of their owners would ever know. For these people, the twilight zone above 6,000rpm is akin to Timbuktu, Levenshulme or the Planet Twix: some place they've heard about but never plan to visit. These people will not enjoy this car.

Turn the key - and nothing happens. Not until you realise that someone with a charming sense of eccentricity in the Honda design department has decreed that this car should have a push-button starter. You'll find it to the right of the steering wheel, inscribed with the legend 'ENGINE START'. Press it and the fun begins. The first thing you notice is the F1-style instrument display, with its digital speedo in the middle and a LED rev counter arching over it like a rainbow. The graphics suggest that you can light it up all the way to 9,000rpm - and for once they don't lie.

This is the highest revving production engine you can buy, a four-cylinder, 2.0-litre unit that puts out an astonishing 237bhp without the aid of a turbocharger. This is the highest output per litre of any production car engine in the world, a unit which makes most other powerplants look like something out of the Ark. To put it into perspective, most normally aspirated 2.0-litre engines struggle to put out 150bhp. Torque is still risible.

The S2000 may be less raw now but it's undeniably a better car. The changes may have come rather late but they're still welcome and the Edition 100 package is a fitting way to see off a memorable sportscar.