[Happy 27th Anniversary] Reliving the “Final Chapter of the JDM Golden Era”—The Year the S2000 and R34 Were Born

2026年4月17日

Let’s get straight to the point. I am currently drowning in deep regret.

Yesterday, April 15th, marked exactly “27 years” since the birth of the Honda S2000. My beloved yellow partner continues to shine even after a quarter-century. But let me come clean. Back in 1999, when the S2000 first roared into existence, I had zero interest in cars. I was just some snot-nosed kid with no clue.

To celebrate the S2000’s 27th anniversary, I decided to dig into the archives and history of that time, and let me tell you—I am absolutely terrified. I finally realized just how much of a “miraculous, insane year” 1999 was for Japanese automotive history, and honestly, for sports car history worldwide.

It was the “final chapter of the golden era peak,” where legendary machines that enthusiasts around the globe are now hunting for with bloodshot eyes were launched all at once. That was 1999.

Note: Due to image copyright reasons, I used Gemini AI to generate the visuals for this post.

■ First, Shiver at the Original “MSRP” Prices

Before we talk history, let’s list the original new car prices from the catalogs of that time. Look at this and let it sink in.

Honda S2000 (Base Model): Approx. 3.38 Million JPY
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34 Standard): Approx. 4.99 Million JPY
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI (GSR): Approx. 2.99 Million JPY
Subaru Impreza WRX STi Version VI: Approx. 2.85 Million JPY

Are you kidding me?! Back then, you could buy a world-conquering monster machine brand new for the price of a modern-day budget compact car.

Of course, the cost of living and tax rates are different now. I get that logically. But even accounting for that, these are unbelievable bargain prices. It’s impossible to get a pure-bred sports car at this price point ever again. Thinking about it this way, you can really feel the insane obsession and corporate effort from makers like Toyota and Mazda, who somehow manage to keep the MX-5, GR86, and GR Yaris affordable under today’s suffocating environmental and safety regulations.

As a car lover, I am incredibly jealous of the adults who got to experience the 1999 hype in real-time, flipping through catalogs and picking out their dream rides brand new.

Sadly, 27 years later, these cars now command used prices that far exceed their original MSRP. I wish they were still at a price point where young, broke enthusiasts could actually afford them, but…

■ The “Ultimate Duo” Born into the Winter Era

1999 wasn’t just a year where some cool cars came out. It was a time when the “Winter Era” for pure sports cars was fast approaching, with emissions laws (the infamous Year 2000 regs) and radical safety standard changes threatening their very existence.

While most companies were busy cutting costs and standardizing platforms, Honda and Nissan bet their pride and souls on launching two monsters with completely opposite philosophies. Both hit the streets in 1999.

These two have seen a massive surge in global JDM appreciation, but the Skyline GT-R (R34) is arguably most famous for its starring role in “The Fast and the Furious.” Naturally, I’m a huge fan too.

【100% Purity, the “Aesthetics of Subtraction”: S2000】 Honda ditched the heavy roof, rejected response-killing turbochargers, and stuck religiously to Rear-Wheel Drive. They crushed the “convertibles lack rigidity” curse with a white-sheet dedicated “High X-Bone Frame.” By shoving the engine behind the front axle for a perfect 50:50 weight distribution and dropping in the insane 9,000 RPM F20C engine paired with a dedicated 6-speed MT, they created a masterpiece of engineering that connects the human senses directly to the machine.

【The Peak of “Aesthetics of Addition”: Skyline GT-R (R34)】 On the other side, the R34 GT-R is the aesthetics of absolute victory on the race track. It packed the legendary RB26DETT twin-turbo engine with bottomless potential into a rock-solid coupe body, utilizing the “ATTESA E-TS” AWD system to optimize every ounce of power. Yet, they obsessed over the details—micrometer-level finishing on the Getrag 6-speed gears to kill noise, and a dual-pipe shifter structure with specialized rubber to isolate vibrations. The amount of cost and labor poured into the driver’s tactile experience was abnormal.

■ 1999 as a “Singularity”

The S2000 pursued the joy of driving through “Lightweight, N/A, FR.” The R34 GT-R pursued absolute speed through “High-power Turbo, AWD.”

1999, where these two opposing peaks were born, was the “brightest flash” of the internal combustion sports car before the world shifted toward environmentalism and electrification. The reason these cars are still worshiped as gods 27 years later is simply that they are products of an era that will never happen again.

Author of this article

Buri-shabu

Mid-life salaryman by day, surviving the pharmaceutical trenches with logic. But the moment I step out, I’m a "fanatic" devoted to my S2000. 20 years together—VTEC kick is pure ecstasy.