Car Feature>> Power House Amuse S2000 Gt1

It was 2004 when the late Tanabe-san of Power House Amuse came up with an all-new idea for a wild Honda S2000-based project. He wanted to push the boundaries of what had so far been done with the then 5-year old Honda sports car. It took him less than a year to come up with the design of what has to be regarded as one of the best and most recognizable wide body conversions for the AP1/AP2.

But the idea went well beyond pure aesthetics; Tanabe-san wanted to create an unbeatable car that would be able to lap Japan’s circuits faster than anything out there. Unfortunately fate had other plans and an incurable disease pretty much put an end to him ever completing what he started. Even if the initial idea never materialized fully, I just can’t pass up the opportunity to post up a feature on this car, as it was a Game Changer on so many other levels.

You see Tanabe-san was never one to waste time. Even in the last months of his life he dedicated all of his efforts to completing various projects, cars that helped him leave behind a true legacy. The S2000 GT1 did meet a lot of goals, first up in the aero department as the kit was deigned, produced and sold in a short period of time, quickly becoming a favorite among Honda enthusiasts. When I visited Power House Amuse in 2005 Tanabe-san was very excited as he knew the potential his soon to be created demo car could have when completed. On top of the beautiful body conversion,

…he was then working on the motor that would power this crazy time attack car, a 550 HP F20C. Thanks to a JUN H22A crankshaft, JUN H23A connecting rods and special 87 mm pistons the engine was stroked to 2259 cc with the compression ratio lowered to 8.8:1 ready to accept a serious dose of force feeding. Tanabe-san built a one-off stainless steel exhaust manifold on which he bolted on an HKS GT3240 turbo along with an HKS GTII external wastegate. When he showed me the progress he had made in a few short months, sitting there on an engine stand in the little engine-building room at the Amuse HQ, I was just blown away. The plan was all drawn out, the F20C, once completed was to be fitted to the S2000 along with an HKS 6-speed sequential transmission and an R34 GT-R rear end to handle the savage power and torque this motor would crank out.

It was all very exciting and I was due to return there to see the car when it was completed. In the meantime however I was shown to one of four GT1 kitted S2000 that were parked up outside the shop.

I picked one finished off in Honda’s factory pearl white color, which perfectly highlighted the gentle yet aggressive lines of the conversion.

Under the hood this car was running a stock engine mated to an Mugen carbon air box with air scoop, an Amuse stainless manifold…

…and a stunning titanium exhaust system that had been especially created for the GT1 kit, with two blue tail pipes sticking out from the rear bumper.

It was dropped on a set of Amuse suspension, which were running lightweight titanium-alloy springs, another of Tanabe’s many great ideas. Silver 10J wide 18-inch Volk Racing CE28Ns were the perfect wheel choice to complement the race-car inspired aero, shod in 265/35R18 Bridgestone Potenza RE-01Rs at each corner.

The factory red on black interior was complimented with a Momo steering wheel…

…and a set of red Bride bucket seats sporting the unmissable Takata harnesses.

It’s very sad that Tanabe-san’s life was cut short. He was a true innovator, a man with so much drive and passion for anything on four wheels. He was never one to settle for a specific brand or car, he liked to fiddle with anything he could get his hands from GT-Rs to Supras, Chasers to S2000s and of course Fairlady Zs. He even set up Ericsson where JDM style was fused with the best BMW had to offer. The S2000 GT1 was one of his best creations, and I’m sure that if he ever had the chance to fully complete it, it would have been nothing short of savage!

Power House Amuse

Game Changers features on Speedhunters

-Dino Dalle Carbonare

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2

This car suck major balls!!!! jk lol, this is one of my favorite cars ever. Banzai Tanabe-san!!!

3

I remember this from a bit ago, very nice :)

4

absolutely stunning car, he did wonders with it and I hope I get to see one in person one day. Some people just hit that mark a bit higher then others and this car is proof of that.

5

I've seen these exact photos in a copy of Japanese Performance Magazine from a few years ago. And the Mines R34 Skyline from a previous post. Are you running out of stuff to publish Speedhunters!!

6

what an epic machine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my favorite tuned machines of all time!

7

They're not running out, if you read the mines article it says, wintertime = less stuff happening, and it's always about budget, maybe not everyone have read those articles.

8

Go to 5:05 in this Best Motoring vid: http://youtu.be/vOefITiu72E

9

Desktops please! First picture, third picture, last picture... there's no bad angles on this thing.

10

one rearshot? srsly?

nice car for sure :)

13

Wow!!! didnt they talk about this car 2 years ago? idk maybe but nice engine i love the titanium exhausts!

14

Wow, bittersweet post.



Killer looking S2, AND unlike most track S2's, this one has legit power to back it up at the top tier ("throttle response" can only get you so far, isn't that right Fontana? lol)



I really hope this car becomes (or at least attempts to be) a benchmark for track based performance, and not turn into a show car. Considering the direction of the build, top tier track results seem rational as the end goal.



*fingers crossed*

15

the "airbox" is just a simple muggen intake ...

16

add my last comment stupid speedhunters.

17

@dan

Dino is not only a photographer for Speedhunters but for other magazines, there not running out of stuff, there just using old photos shot previously. This is why you may see some stuff that was published a while ago. Hope that clears things up :)

18

@dan



DIno was probably the guy who took those pics for that magazine.

19

desktop all please... immediately... i need it

20

One of my favourite S2000s of all time, absolutely love it, especially in white!

21

this is the same car as last time, stop whit the same cars. need more SC300's drifting. p.s. your games suck too need more car in thim like old ones. "shift2". i am not a game makere but i can make a better one. speedhunters look for a different job now u suck at everything forreal.

22

this is the same car as last time, stop whit the same cars. need more SC300's drifting. p.s. your games suck too need more car in thim like old ones. "shift2". i am not a game makere but i can make a better one. speedhunters look for a different job now u suck at everything forreal.

23

Very cool.. too bad it wasn't finished

24

WOA makes me want to own a s2000 searching on craigslist as of now

25

Love these game changers posts. It's cool to look back on things from years pasts and compare to now. Keep em coming!

26

RIP Tanabe San. This car was an inspiration to the scene.

27

This has got to be one of my all time favorite cars in Gran Turismo 4

28

@someone that...



If you feel that way, why bother even coming to this site lol. Clowns...*SMH*

29

cool car...great job !!!

30

speedhunters you fags y don't u put my shit up u fuck faces.

31

ya, some of my thing weren't posted etr. by the way this car looks like crap in person. seen it.

32

This car and the C-West S2K are the only way to roll.

33

Right? lol

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