REACHING BACK TO ITS SPORTY ROOTS; HONDA'S RACY ROADSTER TO HIT U.S. IN FALL.

Byline: Yuri Kageyama Associated Press

Honda Motor Co. rolled out the new S2000 roadster Thursday in an attempt to compete against pricier European sports cars in a crowded niche market.

The eye-catching two-seater, which will hit U.S. showrooms in the fall, sells in Japan for about $28,000 - far more affordable than upper-end import roadsters like the $41,000 Mercedes-Benz SLK and the $51,000 Porsche Boxster.

The S2000 meets Japanese exhaust emission standards that go into effect next year. It also comes with a tax incentive, allowing Japanese motorists to save about $300 if the car is registered before October 2000.

Honda hopes to sell 500 of the roadsters in Japan a month and about 10,000 a year abroad, including the United States, Europe and Asia.

``We've created a responsive sports car that feels good to the driver,'' said Shigeru Uehara, the Honda executive who heads the S2000 team. ``It's nimble, as though it is part of your limbs, almost like a racing car.''

Honda's S2000 has a rigid body that offers safety, an electrically powered top that goes up in six seconds and a 2-liter, 4-cylinder engine.

First shown late last year at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, the S2000 marks a return to Honda's roots.

Honda's first car was the S500 roadster, introduced in 1963. The company, which previously only produced motorcycles, entered Formula 1 racing the following year.

``This sports car embodies Honda's passion toward driving,'' Honda President Hiroyuki Yoshino told hundreds of reporters Thursday at a reception at Honda headquarters in Tokyo.

The introduction of the S2000 - the only roadster in Honda's lineup - comes at a time when Japanese auto sales have been dragged down by a persistent recession, plummeting 11.2 percent in the fiscal year that ended March 31, the second straight year of declines.

Although Honda sales in North America have continued to rise, overall sales for the last three months of last year fell 3.9 percent, to $12.6 billion. Honda has managed to keep profits up through cost-cutting. The weaker Japanese yen, which boosts profits for exporters like Honda, also has helped.

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PHOTO (Color) In Tokyo, Honda Motor Co. Hiroyuki Matsuno shows a display model of the new S2000 roadster, with usually hidden features showing.

Katsumi Kasahara/Associated Press