No matter what anyone says, the Honda S2000 was never meant to be a car used for drag racing. But then again, neither was the McLaren 720S, but it’s still fun to see each one go down a drag strip. Before you think we sound crazy, just check out this video of a uber-modified Honda S2000 attempt to drag race a super-modified McLaren 720S.

Honda S2000 vs McLaren 720S

The video shown above comes by way of a YouTube channel called “Driving Line,” which focuses on cars from all over the automotive spectrum. They have videos about everything from Jeep modifications to drag race battles like this one. And in this video called “Driver Battles,” two racers from Dallas, Texas, go head-to-head to race a modified S2000 against a modified McLaren 720S.

The McLaren driver, Kenny Tran, listed some of the modifications done to the 720S, the bulk of which includes a JoTech Stage 2 package with an M-Engineering tune and an IDS titanium exhaust and downpipe. According to Tran, the car spun the dyno rollers to the tune of 870 whp and 700 lb-ft of torque. That’s a pretty good bump in power considering the McLaren 720S produces 710 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque from the factory.

On the other side of the track is a 2001 Honda S2000, driven by Stuart Leiby, who says that it has “anything and everything” done to it. Apparently, that includes stroking the stock engine from 2.0 liters to 2.3 and then strapping a “big ‘ol turbo” to it. Putting the power to the ground is a Quaife sequentially shifted dog box transmission, which is perfect since it’s more of a track car, despite the fact that Leiby says he drives it on the streets of Dallas. Also, it makes 1,200 hp and 1,000 lb-ft of torque, which sounds like it would be an utter handful on the street.

The practice runs went well

After all of the introductions were made, the two drag racers took to the track to do some practice runs before the final “money run.” Both cars looked really good when doing their warm-up laps as both cars flew down the track looking like true drag cars. But when the final “money run” took place, the Honda S2000 launched off the line, bogged, and then slowly pulled to the side of the track. The McLaren, on the other hand, completed the run as expected.

When asked about what happened, Leiby said that the axle may have popped out as the turbo went up to full boost. With that much power, anything is possible, especially a broken axle. However, according to the time slips that each car posted during their practice runs, the Honda S2000 was able to get down the track in its best time of 9.23 seconds, while the McLaren’s best time was 9.435. Technically speaking, it looks like the Honda had the potential to be just as fast if, not faster than the McLaren on a good day.

Who won?

Ultimately, Kenny Tran won the race since he actually completed the “money run.” However, the race was really won after the drivers raced against each other in the “control cars,” which were basically stock Dodge Chargers, most likely outfitted with V6 engines. Tran won that race by getting completing the quarter-mile in 14.537 seconds, which is probably the slowest he’s ever driven. Lucky for him, he won a fancy fuel pump for all of his hard work.