Honda S2000: Mode Parfume’s Hardtop and Widebody Conversions Are Now Available in the U.S.
Reinvigorate your S2K with fresh JDM style.
Over the years we've featured some pretty remarkable widebody S2000 roadsters. May they be sleek street machines, squeaky-clean show-mobiles, turbocharged track terrors, or some combination of the three, the widebody Honda roadster is an impressive aftermarket magic trick. So when Mode Parfume invited us to come to Osaka and check out their 2008 AP2, a car that we'd only seen photos of from the Osaka Auto Messe show, I was quick to jump over to the mainland where I met with our fearless editorial leader, Sam Du, and photographer, David Ishikawa, for what would become known as theSuper Streetsouthern Japan shop tour blitz.
WHO IS MODE PARFUME?
Mode Parfume and its parent company, Blow Design Co., Ltd, are housed in the shipyard district of Izumiotsu, sharp contrast to the humble rural setting we had found ourselves in earlier that day while visiting Toyota Corolla specialist Inazuma Worx. And whereas our first shop visit that day proved to be ultra vehicle specific, Mode Parfume is far more all-encompassing. From award-winning VIP sedans and Honda minivans, to producing a series of best-selling aftermarket fog lamps, this Osaka staple has designed and crafted a wide range of automotive aftermarket parts.
Founded and run by Masao Hirano and his wife, Nobuko, this husband and wife team created a formidable trifecta when they combined their talents with son-in-law, Hiroshige. With over 20+ years of experience on the Mode Parfume resume, there is no shortage of builds that we could cover, so consider today's subject matter a teaser for what is to come.
After spending an afternoon with Mode Parfume's beautifully crafted, Phantom GA-MU widebody AP2, I was left both enchanted and optimistic about what has yet to come. There's a lot to like about the Mode Parfume S2000, but it's also a little on the unusual side, and not entirely finished either.
F22C1 WITH BOLT-ONS
So, before we get too deep into the details, let's acknowledge the elephant in the room: This AP2's 2.2-liter inline-four powerplant is pretty damn close to being bone stock (F22C1 is rated at 240hp from the factory). Engine and transmission mods include little more than an HKS "Super Sound Master" exhaust, Tanabe straight pipe, and some Mode Parfume titanium exhaust tips. There's also a Rywire grounding cable kit, Mode Parfume's own carbon fiber cooling plate, and some Downstar dress-up goods, but in the eternal words of Porky Pig, "That's all folks."
FOCUS ON STYLE
Masao Hirano informs me that the naturally aspirated F22C remains virtually unaltered due to several reasons. He goes on to tell me that one of the main causes is that he wanted to first focus on perfecting the car's aesthetics, before moving on to propulsion and whatnot. Since an entire line of original Mode Parfume powertrain components still have yet to go into development, I focus on the portions of this AP2 that have been modified, only to find myself caught off guard once again.
