I’m a pretty fanatical S1 owner (is there any other sort?) but I am very clear about the car’s strengths and weaknesses and would therefore agree with Ian’s comments all the way. Last year I went out for a back-to-back drive in my car and a 220bhp supercharged S2, and the difference was striking. You could really feel the extra weight in the S2, it was evident even in applying the steering lock to move off from the parking bay, but the nice fat wad of mid-range torque, creature comforts and better-resolved ride made it the easy winner as a road car. I’m sure it would also be a great track car in isolation, absolutely fine for the occasional track day, even if it can’t stand direct comparison with the scalpel-like character of the S1. In terms of road performance, there was very little in it, and my car weighs 770kg and packs around 205bhp. The wider torque spread of the S2 pretty much compensates for any power-to-weight deficit. However, with my new 245bhp 1.9 litre engine installed, things may be different, but that’s another story
No, it’s Dave Harvey’s former race engine, all freshly rebuilt by Peter Grace at PEC and looking immaculate. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have (a) more power, (b) a spare engine and (c) the Jenvey TB’s. I’ve been really happy with my existing 1.8, it has run really well, except it snatches when you first crack the throttle open. Spoke to Dave Walker about it and he reckons that it’s to do with the distance along the inlet between the throttle butterfly and the entry port, on the stock VHPD bodies you get a standing wave that creates an anti-node at the inlet valve at low revs, so the cylinder is starved of mixture. Soon as you touch the throttle said standing wave vanishes, and >lurch