Ultra-Rare 123-Mile Honda S2000 CR Sells for an Eye-Watering $200,000
Is this 2009 Honda S2000 CR worth a staggering $200,000? Someone thought so.
As car enthusiasts, we sort of have to love the Honda S2000. It's in our contracts. However, I've only admired the S2000 from afar, having never had the pleasure of driving one myself, so I must admit to being unaware of the ultra-rare S2000 Club Racer (CR for short)—which was only sold in North America in 2008 and 2009—until now. The reason I'm now aware of the S2000 CR is because someone decided to shell out $200,000 for one on Bring a Trailer.
For those of you just learning about the Honda S2000 CR like I am, it was a super-exclusive track-oriented variant of the S2000, limited to only around 700 units back in '08 and '09. It came with stiffer suspension, extra chassis bracing, wider rear tires, a quicker steering ratio, and stiffer anti-roll bars. It also only came with a hard-top roof, completely ditching the folding soft-top, which was done to save weight. Like with all good track-day specials, both a radio and air conditioning were optional.
At the time, though, it wasn't a highly desirable car. In fact, most car enthusiasts felt the CR was a cynical cash-grab designed to make a few extra bucks before Honda stopped selling the S2000 entirely. That cynicism led to S2000 CRs sitting on dealer lots for months and months before finally selling, despite it not being much more expensive than the standard car. Back in 2009, the MSRP on an entry-level Honda S2000 was $34,995. The S2000 CR was only $37,300, which is only around $2,300 more.
This specific car came with the radio and air conditioning options, which bumped its total price to $38,465, including its $670 destination fee. It wears a Rio Yellow Pearl exterior paint, with a Yellow/Black interior. Stock 17-inch wheels are wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tires. The 2.2-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine is unchanged from the standard S2000, so it still makes 237 horsepower and 163 lb-ft of torque.
Still, you're probably wondering why someone was willing to drop $200,000 on it, when it sold for under $39,000 just over a decade ago. This specific car only has 123 miles on the odometer, which means someone bought it brand new, most likely trailered it to their garage, and drove it just enough to reach 123 miles, before stashing it away until now. It's essentially a museum piece, as it's never really been used and is in perfect condition.
Even with that low mileage, though, that price seems steep. Bring a Trailer recently sold a 2,700-mile example for $112,000 and a 5,500-mile car for $122,500. That means this owner might have to stash this car away again, as driving it could halve its value. But for a car that's supposed to be the best driving version of one of the best driving cars from the '00s, it's a shame to think it might not be driven.
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