It's being piloted by Dai Yoshihara for Evasive Motorsports.
Evasive Motorsports is heading back to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with a new race car: a 650-horsepower Honda S2000 with a massive wing eyeing glory. Evasive Motorsports has previously raced a 900-hp Toyota 86 and even a Tesla Model 3, but this year's entrant is a hill-climb-ready version of the S2000R, an S2000 restomod with the engine from the Civic Type R. However, instead of the 306 hp of the so-called standard model, the engine has seen its power more than double to 650 ponies.
The Evasive Motorsports/Eneos Oil Honda S2000RS was recently teased in sketch form alongside the restomod, but the details were kept under wraps. The S2000RS raced competitively in 2022 Time Attack races and did well enough to convince the team it was ready for the big leagues.
Like with all of Evasive's previous hill climb attempts, this vehicle utilizes Eneos Racing 0W-50 synthetic lubricants and wears the livery of the 150-year-old Japanese company proudly. Last year we found it entertaining that the Tesla Model 3 was covered by the name of an engine oil company, but Evasive said that the Model 3 was able to help develop the brand's new EV fluids that help with lowering friction and lubrication.
We're here for the S2000 race car, though, and this all starts with the engine. At the center of the new race car is the upgraded F20 engine which has been bored out from 2.0 liters to 2.4 liters thanks to a 12.5:1 high-compression Toda Racing bore and stroke kit. The kit comprises 87.5mm pistons, I-beam chrome moly fully floating connecting rods, and a 99mm dynamically balanced crankshaft.
A big-valve Toda cylinder head with sports camshafts, Bosch throttle body, and RZCrew billet intake manifold breathes in more air thanks to an HKS GT6290 ball-bearing turbocharger. This is controlled through an OS Gikem OS-7 sequential transmission with Hollinger pneumatic shifter kit that throws paddle shifters into the mix and will allow Dai much more control throughout the 156-turn race.
From there, the team widened the track and improved the vehicle's downforce. A Voltex Circuit Versions 3 aero body kit is joined by a high-downforce front splitter and rear wing. A carbon fiber Mugen hardtop makes the car more aerodynamic. Housed within the wide fenders are 18×11-inch Titan 7 T-P5 forged wheels shod in 280/650 R18 Yokohama A005 racing slicks that work in tandem with the KW suspension system, StopTech brakes, and a Bosch ABS system that has been dialed in for the past few months.
“We're extremely optimistic about our chances this year,” said Mike Chang, CEO at Evasive Motorsports.
“With years of experience working on the S2000 chassis and the intensive development we put into both our S2000R project and now the S2000RS for Pikes Peak, we've set our sights on the Open Class. We'd love to be the first Japanese tuner car to finish in under 10 min because it's never been done before.”
The car is an absolute beast and will, hopefully, be a rocket from start to finish, thanks to the 650 hp and 2400 lb curb weight. Dai Yoshihara is best known for his Formula Drift career but has been running with this team for the past few years with spotty success at the hill climb. Hopefully, that all changes thanks to this badass machine, and we'll be tuning in on June 25 to see if the 101st running of the race is a good one for the team.
However it performs, this could be one of the coolest Pikes Peak racers we've seen.
Keyword: 650-HP Honda S2000 With Massive Wing Could Be Our Favorite Pikes Peak Racer