I first visited with Chang last year to check out the Model 3 after it returned to Evasive’s Cerritos shop following the win at Pikes Peak. Even then, he hinted at the forthcoming S2000R, which he envisioned as a JDM-style restomod with Singer-level build quality. But the project was always about more than just an engine swap and bodykit, instead Chang wanted to retain the original driving dynamics of a car he learned to love years ago, in the early 2000s—and that, in classic gearhead fashion, he always regrets selling.
“I still reminisce about the days when I had an S2000, which I fell in love with,” he remembers. “It’s just that special feeling I want to recreate.”
Essentially, the Evasive vision of an S2000 Type R doubles down on those decades-old feelings. An iconic paintjob in Championship White matched four other OEM Type R cars on display at Auto Conduct for the debut: an FK8-gen Civic, a pair of right-hand-drive JDM Integras, and an NSX. In a darkened room with such bright paint, the first things everybody on hand noticed were the massive wing, stunning EVS Tuning 52R wheels, and interior details from Recaro Podium carbon bucket seats to Alcantara used just about everywhere. Up close and personal, I kept glancing back at the overall profile—even up on ramps, the car looked tiny, but different.
“The whole front end has been widened,” Chang told me, when I asked about the proportions. “Only about 30 millimeters, but you can’t tell just by looking at it. Everything’s been worked over, it just looks like a factory type of finish.”