[The Origin] A Relationship Longer Than with My Wife. The Unexpected Reason I Ate the “S2000 Poison” and Decided on a Lifelong Commitment.

To be blunt, I think I’ve lost my mind.

In today’s world, minivans and SUVs are worshipped, and automatic braking and fuel efficiency are treated as absolute justice. In the midst of this, there’s a man who treasure-protects a yellow lump of iron with zero practicality, desperate parts supply, and only two seats. That man is me.

I’ve been with this car longer than my current wife. Even as my environment changed drastically with children, and the word “Sell” crossed my mind countless times, I’ve told my family and myself, “No, it’s still okay,” and kept it until now.

Why am I so obsessed with the S2000? Today, I’m going to talk about the beginning of it all—how I plunged headfirst into this “bottomless swamp.”

■ A College Student with Zero Car Love. It Started with “Dad’s Sedan”

It began with my parents’ “Nissan Sedan.” I’ll withhold the specific model name.

At the time, as a college student, I borrowed my parents’ car to commute. It was a perfectly sensible sedan, far removed from sports cars. I had zero affection for it, only putting it through a car wash occasionally. It was merely a “tool for transport.” That was the whole truth.

What derailed my destiny was, unexpectedly, “Gran Turismo 4 (GT4).” To anyone who laughed and said, “What? A game?”, step outside for a moment. We need to talk.

■ The “Digital Automotive Textbook (GT4)” That Warped My Fate

Back then, despite having no interest in cars, I bought GT4 “just because.” It was purely a whim. But it turned out to be a serious “potent drug.”

It wasn’t just about racing. The madness of GT4 lay in its insane “volume of information.” The history of each car was told in detail, and the included “Reference Guide” booklet was the final blow. What is an LSD? How do you set up coilovers? What is the structure of an engine?

It was a “Digital Automotive Textbook” that pounded car mechanics and physics into the brain of a clueless amateur. Every time I turned on my PlayStation 2, I was logically learning about cars.

Before I knew it, I couldn’t stop having fun just looking at real cars on the street. “Ah, that’s the car I saw in GT4!” The euphoria of knowledge and reality linking together… I had completely kicked down the door to becoming a car otaku.

■ The Final Three Candidates. A Bias for “NA over Turbo”

Then came graduation and employment. The mission “Buy my own car” was activated. Having driven countless masterpieces in GT4, three final candidates were already narrowed down in my head:

・Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33 / 350Z)

・Mazda RX-8

・Honda S2000

Naturally, I liked the “violence of turbos” like the GT-R, Supra, Lan-Evo, or Impreza. However, despite having no way of knowing the actual power feel of a real car, I was dominated by a game-bred, biased logic that “NA (Naturally Aspirated) is purer and more beautiful than Turbo.”

Among them, the S2000’s specs completely grabbed my heart. “2-Seater,” “Convertible,” “250 HP from a 2.0L NA,” and “Honda’s 50th Anniversary Car.” Is there any packaging more overflowing with a sense of being special? No, there isn’t. Just three months after starting my job, having completely deleted the word “practicality” from my brain, I became an S2000 owner.

■ The Endless Extraordinary and the Deepening “Swamp”

Every weekend after delivery was “extraordinary” just by driving. It wasn’t the polygons of GT4; it was the real wind and the roar of VTEC. It was so much fun, I drove around like a madman.

By chance, I met a car shop owner my age who taught me about deep car mechanics, and before I knew it, I was stepping onto the circuit. Straight down to the bottom of the swamp.

■ It Doesn’t Have to be the “Correct” Answer. This is My “Brother-in-Arms”

More than 20 years have passed since then. My environment has changed drastically. I met my wife, children were born, and the college student who rolled around in his parents’ sedan has become a solid middle-aged guy.

“Isn’t a 2-seater too tough now?” “Parts aren’t available, and there’s the seating capacity issue.”

Those are valid points. Completely logical criticisms. I could never say that continuing to own an S2000 is the “correct” answer. But this car is no longer just a “possession.” It is an irreplaceable “Brother-in-Arms” that has seen everything from my youth, my marriage, to becoming a parent.

To my wife: I’m sorry. But with this brother-in-arms, who has been with me longer than you, I intend to keep running down this path of glitched logic just a little longer.

And I believe any reason to start liking cars is fine, even if it’s a game like it was for me.

To the youth: please take a step into this wonderful world.

関連投稿:

[Adultery] The Day I Step Out of the S2000. A Serious Assessment of the “Lotus Elise Final Edition” and “GR Yaris Evolution” as Successor Candidates! Every S2000 Owner Must Pay Respect! Explaining the “3 Great Sanctuaries” of Tuning Makers. [Showdown] When an S2000 Owner Got Jealous of the NC Roadster and Got Brutally Put in His Place. [Tears of Joy] Will Honda Save the S2000? The “Forever Car” Dream Becomes Reality with Heritage Business Expansion