C6 Corvette Z06 vs. Built Honda S2000: Track Toy Battle
When it comes to track day toys, do you modify a less expensive car, or buy the factory-made hot rod?
We’ve spent years here at Corvette Forum telling anyone who will listen what a great value used Corvettes are for younger enthusiasts who want as much performance as they can buy for their hard-earned dollars. However, for a younger generation raised on a healthy diet of high-performance imports from Europe and Japan, the possibilities from that side of the argument is endless.
YouTube channel Speed Academy pitted two performance bargains against each other in a track-day battle just to see how they compared. It’s C6 Z06 vs. Honda S2000 to see which is the better $35,000 track day special. Both feature potent, naturally-aspirated engines with high red lines, and a lightweight, rear-wheel drive chassis, but from there, the differences are massive.
These days, $35,000 buys a nice, stock C6 Corvette Z06. As we said earlier, though, there’s a lot of competition out there in that price range, especially if turning fast lap times means more than curb appeal and raw horsepower.
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Regarded by many as an incredibly well-balanced car with remarkable handling, Honda’s S2000 is a potent performer out of the box. However, with a $35,000 budget, there’s enough money left over to buy an impressive list of modifications to turn the S2000 into a track-focused weapon.
One would assume that when the road got twisty, it would be the S2000’s time to shine. That is indeed true, but the C6 wasn’t far behind at all. With an incredibly balanced chassis and tremendous brakes, the Z06 stayed right on the S2000’s tail, only faltering a little bit on the tightest of corners, better suited for the smaller, lighter car with stickier tires. Surprising absolutely no-one, the 505 horsepower LS7 under the hood of the Z06 laid waste to the S2000 in the straights.
With some minor modifications, it’s clear that the Corvette would be entirely untouchable, and despite being a generation removed from the latest and greatest, it’s still more than capable of tangling with the best performance cars of any era.
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