We’ll start with my short FK8 CTR ownership. I made a thread a bit ago about the purchase and how great of a car I felt and still feel the new R is
The purchase was a bit of an impulse. I had the ITR and figured the CTR would make a great addition to the garage. The car was fantastic. It really gets a bad wrap by people for the styling and people beat the overheating thing to death even though they’ve never driven one. We will never get another car like the ITR. Some purist OG owners will never neever be happy with Honda’s new offerings. Pitch it into a corner and the way the boost comes on and effortlessly pulls you out of a corner. The steering, engine, suspension all works effortlessly as one. It is a very different feel and works differently to achieve similar goals than the bare bones, less is more ITR does. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Some won’t like it. But they both instill confidence in you as a driver. If the ITR was Metallica’s ‘master of puppets’ than the CTR is the Black Album. Both are great, one is a little more raw and hard and the other is more refined and mainstream, but both will leave you satisfied for their own reasons.
Around this time winter had come and snow storms arrived. At this point in time I had no plans to sell the ITR. I told my self I could make this work and I did for a bit, but after awhile I felt I needed something a bit more friendly to go anywhere in any condition for myself and family. Don’t get me wrong, my fiancé and 5 year old loved riding in the ITR and loved the way the CTR put her back in her car seat. But after a long tough decision I decided to move on. And after 7 months I got rid of the car. I really enjoyed it I’d love to own another some day, Especially now with Sonic Grey being a color option. Some will say but Brandon, why didn’t you just buy a cheap piece of junk to drive around in? Good point, I could have but I didn’t go that route. And after a bit I ended up with a Toyota 4Runner that I love. (Ask me my feelings on the 19 Tacoma)
Some know I’ve come from a background in S2000’s before I had my R and that’s always been something that’s stuck with me. The R is a blast of a car but I always felt the S2000 had that extra spark. Maybe it’s come from owning 3 of them but I always said I’d have another. After four years of R ownership I decided it was time to sell. I said that if I did It would have to be a really desirable car to replace it with so I decided to pursue the color combo s2000 that meant the most to me in my previous ownership and I would stick with it. This meant selling the R. I took a couple more months to enjoy the car then spent an entire day cleaning every nook and cranny. Now the car wasn’t perfect. It had 175,000 miles on the chassis, not original, paint work, replaced parts. I wasn’t out to make a fortune on the car all I wanted for it was to go to another owner, hopefully in the community that would enjoy it and love it as much as I did. A lot of people have said I’ve sold way too low, maybe I did. These cars have gotten so insane lately with bring a trailer and “collectors” snatching them up. Unfortunately a lot of these “collectors” are just looking to resell and aren’t in it because they truly love the car and want to experience the ownership of it, they have created this niche market that they know and work to their advantage. Maybe I’m exaggerating and more so a hate the game not the player situation. So the R left for California after 24 hours of being for sale.
These cars are worth the price because of their uniqueness in performance, rarity and specialness and I sold it for what I felt it was worth. And it went to a good home, so I thought...... until two months ago when a person in mid west contacted me telling me he thought he my old R. The person who bought it in California bought it and flipped it for $8000 more. It didn’t make me angry but more happy with the compliments the new owner said about the car. He loved it, it was his dream car and it was everything he imagined. I mentioned the forums, expo and the community to him so hopefully he joins us.
So a few weeks of searching led me back to the S2000 that got away. I had an 07 Grand Prix white with red/black interior in 2012 and after a week of searching around one popped up. It was a 3 hour drive owned by a Honda dealership manager. A little bit higher miles than I wanted and unfortunately the GPW cars tend to fetch a higher price. Some little things that could be cleaned up but an all stock 07 in the exact color I wanted I wasn’t going to complain too much.
What I love about these cars is a lot of what I love about the ITR. It’s simple. Everything that needs to be there is there and where it should be. The shifting in the transmission is incredible and the power delivery is perfect. That’s where the CTR differs. It’s very alive and very digital. Not that it takes away from making you feel in control of the car like some newer cars with electronic controls do. But The S2000 is a very analog car and a nice balance between the two. Its a fun car that can be tracked and a nice weekend get away car. It’s not as practical as the CTR (I am now in my 30’s and do love the four doors) but more practical that I can go out of town and park it and not worry about it. All three cars have this ability to put a smile on my face and offer a new experience that never seems to fade every time I get in the driver seat. But the S2000 is the one I’ve come back to four times now. Will it get tracked? Hopefully. Right now it’s in desperate need of some tires and brakes. I still continue to be a part of the community even with not having either R because after 13 years of attending my first expo I’ve grown to really love these cars and more importantly the people.
