The beauty of the car as a concept is that it can play dress-up in various guises. Vehicles can act as dependable workhorses in either the heavy-duty industries or family lifestyle, with pickup trucks and minivans usually found working here, or driving enthusiast tools in the case of hot hatches and sports cars. They can also be frugal runarounds, with compact cars proving the ideal framework to allow their owners to pop into town to complete errands without spending four hours trying to thread through traffic and tighter streets.Alongside the whole driving thing, vehicles also make pretty decent investments. As long as you get the right one, of course. Ultra-rare cars such as the Ferrari 250 GTO can fetch north of $50 million when they are offered, meaning they can potentially make an individual a very rich person. The Honda S2000 sports car is starting to head this way, but this isn't necessarily a good thing. Yes, you could start tucking it away in your garage ready for a rainy day, but we reckon you'd end up regretting that at some stage. S2000's Are Starting To Become Collectors Darlings HondaNot to make you feel ancient or anything, but the beloved S2000 sports car is now 26 years old. It first debuted in the US for the 2000 model year, and made waves due to its balanced handling and screaming VTEC-equipped four-cylinder engine, which brought way more to the table than simply grunt. It was also extremely reliable, making it a strong rival to the likes of the BMW Z4 and Porsche Boxster in its day.The latter element, as well as the fact that JDM cars that were built in the 1990s and early 2000s are now becoming extremely valuable due to drivers who grew up in that era wanting to own their childhood heroes at any cost, is now driving up the value of S2000s considerably.The S2000 was never particularly rare, with over 66,000 examples sold in the US during its nine-year production run, but the fact that it's so reliable means they remain usable long into the future, which ensures they can hold their value much more effectively than competitors of a similar vintage. In addition, the S2000 represents a time when technology went nicely hand-in-hand with finely tuned engineering, affording a level of engagement that modern sports cars lack for the most part. Low-Mileage S2000s Are Making A Killing HondaEven high-mileage examples of S2000s are worth strong money right now, though the best way of beefing up your pension is by offloading a specimen with low miles on the clock. This is exemplified by a blue 2004 AP2-spec machine recently being sold via Bring a Trailer for an eye-opening $70,000, with the car attracting such a large amount of cash due to only sporting 835 miles on its odometer. Remember, this is a car that retailed in 2004 for just $32,800, or around $57,300 in today's money. Rarer track-ready CR variants can fetch up to $150k when in mint condition.There's every chance similar cars will keep climbing in value over the coming years too, as Hagerty's Valuation Tool reports that cars ranked in "good" and "excellent" condition have increased in value by a strong 9.2% over the past 12 months. This could make it tempting to perhaps start limiting the amount of driving you do in your own S2000, or perhaps try to purchase one for yourself to try and make a quick buck. This may prove more trouble than it's worth, though. The Legendary S2000 Is Built To Be Enjoyed Bring A TrailerIf you're already lucky enough to own an S2000, then it's important not to lose sight of why you bought it in the first place. The S2000 was designed purely to be an engaging driver's car, with Honda's engineers putting in ridiculous amounts of work to ensure the machine not only thrilled its pilot, but also wouldn't leave them stranded at the side of the road.The S2000 was never envisioned to be placed in a cold, lonely garage or as part of some collection that sits gathering dust for decades, and it should be out enjoying life. And you should be out enjoying your life with it, rather than allowing it to sit wasting away in favor of a bit of cash. The car was born to drive, and not allowing it to do so would be a crying shame.In addition, even if the magic has gone in terms of enjoying it for yourself, there are plenty of other gearheads out there who have yet to experience the thrill of a well-looked-after S2000. Should owners start locking them away in the interests of profit, one of the best used driver's cars on the market could be locked away from the exact kind of person it was developed for. Plus, unless the car is already on an insanely low amount of miles, it's unlikely you'll ever make hundreds of thousands of dollars on it anyway.Given that even cars with 100,000 miles on the clock are pretty expensive right now, it's unlikely any kind of profit margin will be life-changing unless you've owned your car for the past decade or more. Honda's Shouting Sports Car Needs To Be Revved To Within An Inch Of Its Life HondaWhile some cars can function well as museum pieces, usually due to the fact that while they have stunning styling, they drive like a barge with wooden wheels, the S2000's best attribute is precisely how it drives. Its engine tends to get the most praise, with the 2.0-liter, or 2.2-liter with later AP2 versions, inline-four able to rev to insane levels.The earlier engines can redline at an eardrum-exploding 9,000 rpm, while the later ones can get up to 8,000 rpm. Whichever you choose, the free-revving powerplant loves being pushed up there, and it's one of the most intoxicating experiences a driver can enjoy.Plus, the naturally aspirated engine delivers its grunt in a beautifully linear fashion, allowing you to feel firmly connected to the road as one harmonious unit with the car. It's quick too, with the 240 horsepower being channeled to the rear wheels getting the light machine to 60 mph in less than six seconds. This is helped by an excellent Torsen limited-slip differential, which helps get the Honda's power to the road without lighting up the inside wheel under acceleration. It also only comes equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, upping the engagement factor even further. The S2000 Is Tuned To Appeal To Seasoned Drivers HondaAlongside its thrilling engine, the S2000 keeps you on your toes through the bends. The car's hybrid monocoque helps stiffen the car up nicely to ensure it transmits a ton of feedback directly to the driver, while also keeping them safe should you get a little overexuberant. A double wishbone suspension setup is tuned to be smooth enough to keep you relatively comfortable on normal roads, but also provide beautifully balanced handling that reacts finely to all your inputs. This crisp handling is further enhanced by the fact that it has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution, which helps prevent extreme cases of confidence-sapping understeer or oversteer. That said, get silly with it, and you'll know about it.Honda's engineers even worked hard to ensure the car's brake-pad material afforded drivers a consistent and solid feel, while its power steering system was calibrated to be quick, but also provide excellent feel. Everything about the S2000 screams "driver-focused", so locking it away to earn a bit of cash is a bit like keeping a lion locked away in a cage. So please, allow the S2000 to hunt like it was designed to do. Higher Mileage Cars Provide All The Fun, But None Of The Temptation HondaA tricky part of buying a car that is gaining a following in the collecting world is that, if you buy a good one, thoughts of trying to preserve it start to overtake those of having fun. Worrying about not getting the smallest helping of curb rash or stone chips in the paintwork drains all the enjoyment from cars like these, when really you should be letting it rip on an open road without a care in the world. The best way to get around this is by buying a higher-mileage example instead, which will be nowhere near as valuable as more pristine S2000s.Do so, and you'll be safe in the knowledge that it won't ever become a full-fat valuable investment, as its mileage and likely condition won't be enough to warrant it. This'll let you off the leash, and ensure you can drive the S2000 like it was designed to be driven, without feeling guilty or worrying that any kind of use will have an effect on your bank balance.The S2000 is extremely reliable, so even buying one with over 100,000 miles on the clock isn't a huge concern. That said, due to this, even higher milers tend to attract around $25,000 on the used market at the moment. Spend closer to $35k, and you can have a cherished car that has covered closer to 60,000 miles.The S2000 is truly one of the best used driving machines on the market right now, and it would be a massive shame if most of them started disappearing not because their drivers thought that a corner was a fourth-gear one rather than a second-gear job, but due to being hidden away in some collection. Honda always had higher hopes for its sports car darling, so don't let the whole investment thing cloud your judgment. The S2000 was born to live, and in turn, to allow you to do so as well. So let it.
