The S2000, Honda’s flagship performance car, was in production for a mere decade. There weren’t many changes to the little high-revving roadster over that span because it was a relatively pricey car to begin with. The changes that did take place were mainly smaller aesthetic updates, such as a hardtop option in later years, updated taillights, and different style alloy wheels. Also, late generation versions received a slight engine size bump.   

Just imagine if this car had some roaring power under the hood, and no, we’re not talking about the factory 2.0L/2.2L with some bolt-ons. We’re talking about a mean sounding , torquey V8 powering this small Japanese sports car, and that’s exactly what we have here.

Say goodbye to that pesky clutch pedal! Oh, and the IRS too…

What you are feasting  your eyes on is a 2001 Honda S2000 with a not-so Honda motor. This S2000 is outfitted with a LS1, and keep in mind, this is no heavy car. A base S2000 with stock motor weighs around 2,800 pounds. This little roadster means business! There are a bunch of goodies added to this car to make the swap possible, such as a freshly built 700R4 transmission, 3,500 stall converter, a Ford 8.8 rear differential, and more. The seller states that there is an included notebook with most of the car’s features and history documented.

While reading this listing, we couldn’t help but notice that the seller refers to Carroll Shelby and his creation, the AC Cobra, by way of comparison. “His name was Carroll Shelby, and he had many great ideas.” We personally thought this was funny because when Shelby built Cobras, only Ford motors were used. Maybe if Chevy and Honda would have gone on a similar joint venture, this could have been the modern day version of a Cobra?

This still seems like a cool little project car to pick up and rip around in. As anticipated, there are some faults with the swap as far as creature comforts go. The seller states that the car no longer has power steering, the AC components aren’t installed, and cruise control doesn’t work. However, if you were to use this car on weekends for track use and pure unadulterated V8 power, this little Honda might be a hell of a deal.

Finally, an engine with enough displacement to actually need that grapefruit cannon tailpipe…