Exciting Honda SS2200 Concept Car!  A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, an R&D team had a dream: to surge beyond the bounds of current automotive design. The Speed Star 2200, or SS2200, is just such a car,
and comes from one of Japan's top performance tune-up studios, Mugen.
By day, the backroom boffins at Honda's high profile motorsports arm work on the next generation F1 engine, but in their spare time they think
Star Wars and spaceships. One look at the SS2200 and you have to concur. "With this car," says Takashi Uno, Mugen R&D spokesman and design overseer for the SS2200 study
model, "we thought 'what type of car would Luke Skywalker have wanted?' and took it from there." Sure, Uno-san. But how does such a respectable group of revheads get to trip down indulgence lane to
this extent? Uno says the answer is simple. Every year, Tokyo's Auto Salon gives tune-up studios and high-performance shops the opportunity to display their wares to a discerning public.  A road-legal 500kW Nissan Skyline GT-R and a 300km/h
Toyota Supra with Ferrari F50 brakes are par for the course at this exhibition of extremes.
Mugen wanted to showcase its leading technologies too and their car of choice was the sharp S2000. But simply to add
aero body parts and tinker with its engine was not going to hack it. They wanted people to say "Wow!" as soon as they laid eyes on it. So the team delved deeped into Star Wars
fantasies of Luke, Hans and Leia and added a hint of humour and a dash of daring. Shod with huge 18-inch wheels, body detail seemingly inspired by a Great White and a race-spec rear
wing, the single seater looks ready to be thrashed. But that's not its purpose," insists Uno. "Yes, the car does drive, but it's purely a prototype that will never see the light of day."
And that's sad. Mugen did more than tinker with the engine. The SS2200 has a 280hp 2.2-litre VTEC four-cylinder - as well as a beefed-up engine management computer, large capacity radiator, reinforced
clutch, the last word on brakes, suspension and exhaust and a one-off windscreen-less cockpit with rollcage and full safety harness.
So if the car's not headed for the market, then why do it? "To show how far we could go in showcasing new technology that will be incorporated into upcoming models," Uno says.
The exhaust system and the racing suspension have already found their way into speed shops. What will become of the SS2200 prototype? Crowd reaction tells all. Uno says he will never forget the
look on kids' faces as they fussed over the silver beast. If he has planted a seed in just one future car stylist or engineer, Uno says, he's happy. |
