I've been told by S2000 owners that the only torque to be found is at the top of the powerband, so revving it to 8900 and keeping it near redline is required to really enjoy the car.

There's a lot of time wasted between 700 rpm at idle and 8900 rpm...

Since posting the original question I have since driven one and have discounted it, it was to be for one of my kids (please save your parental advice, not interested), for one main reason: To get anything useful out of the drive-train you have to what seems to me twist the berries out of it. Not interested in anything with that kind of temptation. I'll be looking at some other more Docile (yet very cool) rides in the next couple of months. BTW......Regarding Parental Advice.......Dangle the Carrot......It's a Helluva Incentive..........$15 to $20k used for a "Cool" car for a full ride to College......Money in the Bank.

+1 on that. Gave my daghter an E46M3, and she rewarded us with a 100% paid college scholarship.