2004 Honda S2000

In the automotive realm there are many things that intoxicate. Hearing is one of the most assaulted senses. Think of a BAR F1 car at full song; some 17,000 rpm, a turbocharger spooling to life and a set of slicks struggling for traction at the strip. But when these sounds are tied directly to your very own right foot, the experience jumps to a whole new level. Factor in the audible allure of the Honda S2000's stratospheric redline, and the sensation and its addictive power threaten to overwhelm.

Jory Butardo has learned to walk the line between control and addiction with his devastating 2004 Honda S2000. His "too much is never enough" rally cry led him to use the j's Racing endurance S2000 racer as inspiration. "My car is designed like an endurance racer, like a 25-hour race; one day at full throttle is not enough. But it has been built for the street and show-this is not a 'track prepped' vehicle," Butardo says.

The S2000 looks more like it's rolling in downtown Tokyo rather than a suburb of Los Angeles. Butardo hit the JDM gong hard, raiding the parts bins of a number of JDM companies but hit j's Racing and Spoon Sports the most prolifically. "I wanted to make the Honda true JDM, to respect and honor the racing history of the S2000, Spoon and j's Racing-and it has gone over well," says Butardo, "nobody bites me."

Indeed, the number of Spoon and j's Racing parts Butardo has amassed is staggering, and he has collected the best of all possible parts. The gems include a full Spoon Sports reciprocating mass, Spoon valvetrain parts, Spoon transmission gears, j's Racing carbon-fiber intake system and a rare j's Racing intake manifold.

Collecting the cool, rare JDM parts is only half the equation; what one does with them can make or break a buildup. The attention to detail found in Butardo's wild ride is top notch, bordering on surreal. The parts are well matched from a form, function and dress-up point of view and their installation has been executed to the highest standard.

In the nine-month period after Butardo bought his S2K (new off the dealer lot in 2004) he has taken the car from zero to hero. He says the roadster is still serving him well as a "weekend toy" and an occasional show entrant. Collecting trophies is not the Honda's legacy; like most next-level cars, its gift is the inspiration within the fine details that can be translated and re-animated by other savvy enthusiasts on their own projects.