Welcome to this week’s FC Throwback, where we take a look back at some of our favourite previous feature cars. This week it’s Claire Miskelly’s Honda S2000 from way back in 2014…
If you want your daily to stand out,why not throw caution to the wind and cut it up? It’s time to go big, or go home!
Some people were just born to modify cars, I really do believe that. Of course there are plenty of guys and girls who dip in and out of the scene over a number of years and there’s nothing wrong with that either. It’s this eclectic mix of characters and new ideas that’s part of what makes world car culture great.
The people I’m talking about though are the hardcore. They don’t so much modify because they want to, they modify because they HAVE to – it’s in their blood and they just can’t help themselves. Claire Miskelly, owner of this multi award-winning GT-kitted daily-driver, is just one of those fine people.
It has to be said that Claire and her husband, Simon, are a permanent fixture on the European show circuit and have been for as far back as I can remember. In fact, it’s not all that long ago Simon stormed the Time Attack Series in his own J’s Racing sponsored Integra DC5, which may go someway to explain the somewhat jaw-dropping array of J’s Racing gear that has cropped up on this particularly roofless little Honda. But enough about Simon, because, as much as all the FC crew know and love the fella, he’s usually the one who everyone assumes owns the cars and, strictly speaking, that’s not the truth.
You see, apart from the DC5 racer, it’s actually Claire who’s conceived the long list of show-stoppers over the years but, perhaps understandably, when it’s a blown F150 Lightning or crazy Evo packed with audio, most of the time it’s the old man who has to fend off the questions from admiring fans. Now, while it’s true that Simon is an engineer and always gets stuck right into the builds, it’s Claire who is the driving force, and the S2000 is the culmination of her decision to look for, in her own words, “a more feminine motor.”
Now, I know what you’re thinking – feminine may not be the word I would have chosen either – especially now it’s clad in more carbon fibre than the space shuttle and the only official, wide arch J’s Racing GT kit on the continent. But, compared to some of the cars she’s built over the years, I kinda get her point.
Some are surprised that Claire uses this car as her daily-driver too, but having spoken to her on numerous occasions, I’m not. I’m not even slightly bemused about the fact that she spent ages looking for a yellow one, before fitting a J’s Type S kit and eventually wrapping it satin black anyway. What can I say? It’s no bombshell because she’s a true car nut – that’s just what we do, right?
The little drop-top may have lifted a few trophies back then but, as it stands today, it’s a totally different beast. What really does surprise me is that a car of this quality was largely built DIY-style at home. Of course, there’s some seriously specialist bits like the paintjob and mapping that were out-sourced, but just about everything else – from the trial-fitting of the kit to slapping on the final vinyl decals were tackled in Claire’s garage by the couple together – how very romantic.
The spec is of epic proportions too. I mean, just give yourself a good couple of weeks and you should be able to read through it and take it all in. Just about everything you can think to do to an S2000 has been done, and it’s taken some seriously high-end tuning parts from the likes of Ohlins and Brencivic to get there, but the result is simply staggering.
The motorsport influence is pretty obvious here – perhaps that comes from Claire’s dad, a former Autograss racer, or maybe Simon’s Time Attack days. Whatever the catalyst for race-inspired greatness, this one is clearly built to perform and, with all that aero, huge sticky tyres and a mildly-tuned 260bhp VTEC, it really does. But it’s not just the on-track goodness that’s important, it’s got some pretty hefty all-round appeal too with a more than healthy chunk of Rockford Fosgate audio and a super plush trim from Krych.
So, I guess this mad-looking beast is feminine in a way that the equally yellow-suited, Uma Thurman, is feminine in Kill Bill. Stunning to look at and light on it’s feet – although you cant help feeling it’s about to rip someone’s balls off!
And when it comes down to it, that’s what this car is all about, balls. Because that’s exactly what it requires to take a grinder to the arches of your pride and joy. Or to fit 80mm wider fenders in a world where just about everyone on the web takes it upon themselves to be bodykit judge, jury and executioner. It also takes some pretty hefty trouser potatoes to paint your a daily driver in a special satin-lacquered colour that can’t be waxed or polished and one little scratch can only mean a full respray. Yes, it takes balls but Claire’s definitely got those, and then some… nice work!
TECH SPEC HONDA S2000
Styling
J’s Racing Type GT Bodykit, Type V carbon fibre aero hood, carbon fibre canards, super-wide Type 2, 3D GT wing, brake cooling ducts and carbon fibre fender side fences, Seibon carbon trunk lid, floral graphics
Chassis
Custom-painted Rota MXR 10x18in ET 12 (f) and 11x18in ET8 (r) Yokohama AD-08 255x35x18 (f) 285x30x18 (r), J’s Racing upper front, upper rear and lower rear brace, Tarox front 6-pot big brake kit, Ferodo DS2500 fast road pads, Mocal custom stainless steel braded brake lines, Ohlins road and track coilovers (custom tuned by Aurok), Super Pro bushes, fast road Geo Setup by TGM
Engine
J’s Racing SPL 4-2-1 manifold, twin-exit titanium exhaust modified to suit GT kit, Tsuchinoko carbon ram air induction kit, oil filler cap, high pressure radiator cap, engine torque damper, carbon rad cooling panel and magnetic drain bolts, Mocal engine oil cooler system and engine breather, Spec-R breather, expansion tank fusebox, power steering and washer cap covers, Brencivic cam cover, TGM baffled sump, SFS silicone hoses, Think Automotive breather hoses, NGK Iridium plugs, AEM fuel and ignition controller mapped by TDi North
Interior
Krych leather re-trim, floral JDM shifter, carbon lower centre console and sill covers, J’s racing matts
Audio
Alpine 9887R headunit, Rockford Fosgate T2652-s components, Punch P3D2-12, P600X4 amp, iPad integration, carbon fibre sub enclosure
Words Midge photography Laurens Parsons
