Photo: John Rust/Hemmings.com
Classic American car fans and JDM enthusiasts used to exist in separate but equal spaces in the automotive cultural zeitgeist. Never to interact or mingle with one another, lest they get into a particularly spirited debate on how one is objectively better than the other.
Well, the internet, by and large, put an end to all that, and this Honda S2000 swapped Nash Metropolitan is the perfect example of what can happen when you place your biases aside and just make the best damn car you can build. In short, this is a heavily modified 1961 Nash Metropolitan that internally shares almost nothing with its initial version as when it left the factory over six decades ago.
If there was any classic American car whose overall demeanor made it the right choice for a Honda VTEC engine, it was the little Metropolitan. Initially fitted a land-seal of an inline-four ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 liters, this Metropolitan was initially modified with an Austin engine from a British MGB and later the iconic S2000's inline-4.
The car has a storied history of modifications starting in the early 80s. Still, in 2003, the well-worn custom Nash Metropolitan was given a thorough doing over that leaves it in the condition it sits in today. In its factory configuration, the F20C S2000's engine made around 240 horsepower. In a car as light as the Metropolitan that features a rear-wheel drive platform, it has all the makings of the Mazda MX-5 alternative that most carmakers didn't have the guts to make themselves.
Apart from the engine, this modified Metropolitan features the same six-speed manual transmission found in the S2000. The front end is derived from the lowly Ford Mustang II, a surprisingly affordable and reliable choice for custom DIY guys looking for a front end for their restomod. The rear end is from a 1989 Toyota Supra with a 4:30 limited-slip differential and coilover springs. At the front it sported 13-inch (330 mm) disc brakes with 11-inch (280 mm) rotors in the rear to bring everything to a dead stop.
There are also features like power windows, cruise control, leather seats, and various interior trim pieces taken from, of all places, the MX-5. Well, if you can't beat them, join them, we can only assume. Not that anyone would mind the extra bit of Mazda tinsel, the MX-5 hasn't sold like hotcakes for decades for no reason. The exterior paint color is Mercedes Silver and has a functional HVAC unit from Vintage Air.
If you want to see the car, the seller lives in Muncie, Indiana, and listed the car for sale on Hemmings.com for $75,000 before taxes and fees. That's quite a bit of coins for what is at the end of the day, a four-cylinder tin can of a droptop sports car with a Honda engine under the hood.
If there was any classic American car whose overall demeanor made it the right choice for a Honda VTEC engine, it was the little Metropolitan. Initially fitted a land-seal of an inline-four ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 liters, this Metropolitan was initially modified with an Austin engine from a British MGB and later the iconic S2000's inline-4.
The car has a storied history of modifications starting in the early 80s. Still, in 2003, the well-worn custom Nash Metropolitan was given a thorough doing over that leaves it in the condition it sits in today. In its factory configuration, the F20C S2000's engine made around 240 horsepower. In a car as light as the Metropolitan that features a rear-wheel drive platform, it has all the makings of the Mazda MX-5 alternative that most carmakers didn't have the guts to make themselves.
Apart from the engine, this modified Metropolitan features the same six-speed manual transmission found in the S2000. The front end is derived from the lowly Ford Mustang II, a surprisingly affordable and reliable choice for custom DIY guys looking for a front end for their restomod. The rear end is from a 1989 Toyota Supra with a 4:30 limited-slip differential and coilover springs. At the front it sported 13-inch (330 mm) disc brakes with 11-inch (280 mm) rotors in the rear to bring everything to a dead stop.
There are also features like power windows, cruise control, leather seats, and various interior trim pieces taken from, of all places, the MX-5. Well, if you can't beat them, join them, we can only assume. Not that anyone would mind the extra bit of Mazda tinsel, the MX-5 hasn't sold like hotcakes for decades for no reason. The exterior paint color is Mercedes Silver and has a functional HVAC unit from Vintage Air.
If you want to see the car, the seller lives in Muncie, Indiana, and listed the car for sale on Hemmings.com for $75,000 before taxes and fees. That's quite a bit of coins for what is at the end of the day, a four-cylinder tin can of a droptop sports car with a Honda engine under the hood.
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