For anyone who has hung on to a car for years, there is often just one or two outcomes. Either the car develops some kind of minor issue and slowly gathers dust on our driveway or under a ton of boxes in the garage, or you end up selling it for a fraction of its original price. But choose wisely, and there are some models that hold their value extremely well. Buy a Porsche 718 Boxster, or yes, even a Toyota Corolla, and you will see fairly glacial depreciation compared to other cars. Some other new models will fall off the cliff edge of depreciation, and you likely won't be getting them back.But what if we said there is one sports car that you could have bought 20 years ago that is still worth the same as it was when it was sitting box-fresh in the showroom? That's right – virtually zero money lost over more than 20 years (not taking into account boring stuff like maintenance and insurance). This isn't some exotic supercar, however, or a special Porsche 911 that had a waiting list from here to Stuttgart; it's a budget Japanese sports convertible made by a company that specializes in weirdly rev-happy humdrum hatchbacks and sedans. Now all we need is a time machine to go and get one... Honda Revolutionized The Affordable Sports Car Market In The 2000s With The S2000 Cars & Bids Visitors to the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995 who were expecting to see nothing more than a funky new trim for the Honda Civic were in for a treat. Taking pride of place on the Honda stall was an interesting-looking new two-door sports car, with a low-placed grille and headlight ensemble that looked vaguely reminiscent of an NSX, dubbed the SSM.Fast-forward to 1998, and Honda announced the release of the Honda S2000 prototype, which it referred to as "a new-generation convertible sports car," with plans for further development testing before the car went on sale in 1999. Honda President Yoshino said that the S2000 was a vision of the future: "In line with today's focus on safety and environment preservation, the S2000 is the latest addition to Honda's line of sports cars designed for pure driving pleasure, and shows the direction in which Honda's car design is headed for in the future."Find [[default_name]] and more cars for sale on our MarketplaceShop Now The S2000 Was A Groundbreaking Design Honda The 2000s were a time before SUVs started becoming the car of choice for everything from mud plugging to drag racing, people were still interested in affordable manual transmission sports cars – something we don't see anymore today. But while some of these sporty models, such as the Audi TT, had their roots in ordinary hatchbacks, Honda wanted to create something a bit more bespoke. The S2000 was that car.Mecum Auctions Under the skin is an innovative structure dubbed a 'high Xbone frame', where the frame rails and center tunnel combine to create an incredibly strong body-chassis, offering the crash protection equivalent to that of a closed body, while keeping the overall weight to roughly 2800 lbs. The S2000 would be built at the Takanezawa plant in Tochigi, Japan, side-by-side with the Honda NSX, with production limited to around 12,000 cars a year. At The Heart Of The S2000 Is One Of The World's Greatest Engines Mecum Auctions But while all this was interesting stuff, the real showstopper in the S2000 is the engine. The early AP1 cars came with an extraordinary, four-pot 2.0-liter DOHC VTEC (F20C) engine that spins all the way to 9,000 rpm before headbutting the rev limiter (or 8,800 rpm in later models). At 118 horsepower/liter, Honda pointed out that its specific output is greater than any naturally aspirated engine on the market. With 240 horsepower and 153 lb-ft of torque, the S2000 can hit 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 150 mph. A Celebrated Six-Speed Manual Gearbox Mecum Auctions In the name of simplicity and focus, the S2000 came fitted with a lightweight six-speed manual transmission with short-throw shift action. The compact electric power steering was tuned to be direct. This being the early 2000s, there wouldn't be any annoying lane-stray-sensing tech; the nannying systems were reduced to just antilock braking with electronic brake force distribution. A torque-sensing limited slip differential was fitted to guard against the Bridgestone Potenza S-02s losing traction in tight corners. Traction and stability control came later. Later AP2 Models Got A Bigger Engine With More Torque Mecum Auctions Later AP2 cars came fitted with a 2.2-liter F22C1 engine, which pumped out 240 horsepower and a slightly higher 162 lb-ft of torque. These cars can hit 60 mph in 5.4 seconds. Combine this compact engine mounted well behind the front axle to a low center of gravity and a perfect 50:50 front/rear weight distribution, and Honda had created a pretty everyday roadster that oozed with the kind of engineering and know-how that you would expect to see on a supercar. Beating Porsche At Its Own Game Porsche Thanks to its high-revving F20C engine, lightweight chassis, and near-perfect balance, in both acceleration and handling tests, proving that Honda could beat Porsche at its own game in the affordable roadster segment. When it hit the market in 2000, the sticker price was $30,000, but what does all that mean for its value nearly 25 years on? Prices Of Used S2000s Have Gone Insane Bring A Trailer The answer is: pretty much none. But before we get into prices, let's clear one thing up. The S2000 has long been a car that divides opinion. It is to, many, a cult hero. Ask anyone who grew up on a diet of JDM cars and The Fast and the Furious, and they will probably tell you that they adore the S2000. A bright pink S2000 is driven by Suki, a character played by Devon Aoki (that's DJ Steve Aoiki's sister) in the 2003 film 2 Fast 2 Furious. But the S2000 has taken a drubbing by some publications, with Evo magazine adding it to the "car world's greatest misses," calling it "Honda’s regrettable roadster." One thing few disagree on is the spine-tingling engine and the fact that it is a lasting memory of a time when sports cars were simple, affordable, and exhilarating. The S2000 Has Appreciated By Two Or Three Times The Original Price Bring A Trailer Suffice to say, the S2000 is hot property these days. Remember when we said the S2000 was $30,000 new in 2000? Well, expect to pay that for a good one in 2025. Classic.com puts the average price of AP1 cars at $28,921 for all model years, but break it down, and you'll see that cars from 2000 specifically go for $30,651. A 2003 S2000 will cost even more, with an average price of $31,346. Base model AP2 cars, which ran from 2004 to 2009 will cost on average $34,438, says Classic.com.Honda also made a CR version of the S2000, aka the Club Racer, which was lighter with stiffer springs, and an aero spoiler on the trunk. These cars would have been the best S2000 investment when on sale from 2007 to 2009. The base price was $36,935 when new, but now you will have to part with an average of $91,000 to get the keys. Hagerty Valuation Tools puts the average price of a good condition CR slightly lower at $59,500, which still means almost doubling your money in just 15 years. In 2025, a 1,200-mile 2009 Honda S2000 CR sold on Bring a Trailer for $110,000.Sources: Honda, Classic.com