Import a Honda S2000 from Japan to Ireland: what it really costs, now and from 2029
Honda’s 9,000 rpm roadster, April 1999 to June 2009: AP1 with the 250 ps F20C, AP2 with the 2.2 F22C from late 2005, and the Type V and Type S Japanese specials.
The S2000 is a track-day car more than a drift car, and Japan has the best of them: low-mileage, unmodified AP1s that the UK market ran out of years ago. It was also sold new in Ireland, so the certificate figures exist for the equivalent car and insurers know it. What it does not have yet is a birthday: the first AP1s turn 30 in April 2029, and until then it is 41% of a valuation in the high twenties.
On €26,000 that is €10,660 of VRT, and the wait to 2029 is worth roughly €10,000 on an early car. An AP2 does not reach 30 until 2035 and has to be priced as a car you register now; its higher Irish value makes the bill larger and the car no less appealing.
- Customs duty
- 0%
- With a Statement on Origin; 10% without one.
- VRT in the scenarios
- 0% to 41%
- of Revenue’s valuation, by CO2 band
- Landed, incl. fee
- €23,624 to €47,372
- across the scenarios and CO2 assumptions
- Exchange rate
- 180.94 ¥/€
- ECB, 18 Sept 2026, with the 2% buffer
Worked scenarios
Computed with the same engine as the calculator when this page was built. Prices and Irish values are assumptions. CO2 evidence would not change the band for this car: tested at 210, 236, 262 g/km it is 41% every time, so evidence only moves the NOx line. Open any row and replace the assumptions with a real car.
| Car | Price in Japan | Irish value | CO2 → band | Landed incl. fee | Open in calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 AP1, 100,000 km, registered nowPetrol | ¥2,900,000 | €26,000 | 236 NEDC → 252 → band 20, 41% | €35,084 | Open |
| 2006 AP2 F22C, 60,000 km, registered nowPetrol | ¥4,200,000 | €34,000 | 236 NEDC → 252 → band 20, 41% | €47,472 | Open |
| 1999 AP1, 100,000 km, registered after its 30th birthdayPetrol · registered 1 Jun 2029 | ¥2,800,000 | €26,000 | 30 years old → vintage rate, €200 | €23,624 | Open |
- 2000 AP1, 100,000 km, registered now: A grade 4 early AP1 at the middle of the 2026 range; the European car’s 236 g/km NEDC and a NOx figure of about 40 mg/km assumed via a disclosure. Value from the Irish cluster.
- 2006 AP2 F22C, 60,000 km, registered now: A late Japanese-market AP2; figures as for the AP1. The valuation is the top of the Irish range.
- 1999 AP1, 100,000 km, registered after its 30th birthday: A first-year car registered in June 2029 when it turns 30: €200 VRT and no levy. It would have to stay in Japan until then (V21, V25).
VRT and the OMSP
Under 30 the S2000 is band 20 at 41% on any evidence, because the European figure is about 236 g/km NEDC. The valuation is the variable: Irish S2000s sell from the low twenties to the mid thirties, and Revenue will value a Japanese-market car against them.
The first AP1s turn 30 in April 2029 and the last AP2s in June 2039. For an early car the wait is worth about €10,000; for an AP2 it is not a plan.
NOx levy
This car was also sold new in Europe, so a certificate of conformity for the equivalent model exists and a disclosure usually returns a NOx figure in the tens of milligrams: a levy of €150 to €400 rather than the €600 default. The CO2 figure it carries is above 190 g/km, so the band stays at 41%.
Without evidence Revenue charges €600 for petrol and hybrid cars, €4,850 for diesels.
Customs duty and origin
Japanese-built, so 0% customs duty applies with a Statement on Origin from the exporter; without it 10% of the customs value is charged and VAT is charged on the duty too. Heading 9705 adds nothing to a Japanese-built car over 30: the duty is already nil and Revenue keeps the VAT at 23% for a car that will be driven (V19). A modified car is still the same car for duty: origin follows the shell, not the engine in it.
Built in: Japan (Honda, Takanezawa plant in Tochigi to 2004, then Suzuka). Japanese-built, so the EU–Japan 0% duty rate applies with a Statement on Origin.
Insurance
Insurers know the S2000 and quote it as a performance roadster, with a loading rather than a refusal for drivers over 25 and a specialist or agreed-value policy for the best cars. Declare modifications; track use is never covered.
Generations
- AP1 (April 1999 to 2005): F20C, 250 ps at 8,300 rpm and a 9,000 rpm redline, six-speed manual, Torsen differential; the early cars have the digital dash and the snap-oversteer reputation, softened by the 2004 suspension revisions.
- AP2 (Japanese market from November 2005 to June 2009): the 2.2 F22C with 242 ps and more torque, revised gearing and suspension; Type S (2007) with the aero and firmer setup is the Japanese special.
- Type V (2000 to 2003): the AP1 with Honda’s variable-ratio steering, a curiosity that most drivers avoid and collectors seek.
Before you bid
- F20C oil consumption and the early gearbox synchros; a compression test and a drive in every gear before the bid.
- Welded or two-way differentials, hydraulic handbrakes, cut springs and knock-off coil-overs all appear on cars that read as standard in the photographs; ask for the auction sheet and underside pictures before you bid.
- Grade R and RA are repaired cars, common in this trade. Look at the chassis rails, the strut towers and the rear quarters in the pictures, and price a repaired shell as one.
- A Japanese bolt-in cage is not a competition cage here: Drift Masters has prohibited them since 2016 and Irish series run to FIA-style weld-in specifications. Budget for a cage if you intend to compete.
- A caged, lowered or non-running car cannot go on RoRo. Price the container in from the start, alone or shared.
- Roof condition and the rear window on early cars; a replacement hood is a four-figure item.
Where the numbers come from
- Japanese prices in 2026: AP1 cars ¥2,500,000 to ¥4,200,000 with low-mileage, unmodified examples at the top, AP2 ¥3,500,000 to ¥5,500,000, Type S from ¥5,000,000 (exporter listings and auction results; directional).
- Irish S2000 asking prices in 2026 ran from about €22,000 for high-mileage AP1s to €36,000 for the best AP2s, with a handful for sale (DoneDeal and cars.ie, dated). The scenarios use €26,000 to €34,000.
- The European S2000’s certificate carries about 236 g/km NEDC and a NOx figure in the tens of milligrams; a disclosure based on it is the usual route for the Japanese-market car.
Questions people ask
How much VRT does an S2000 pay?
Registered under 30, 41% of Revenue’s valuation plus the NOx levy: on €26,000 about €10,660, and about €200 of levy with the European NOx figure. Registered at 30, from April 2029 for the first AP1s, €200 and no levy.
Can I buy it now and register it when it turns 30?
Not by keeping it unregistered in Ireland. The lawful route is to leave the car in Japan, in storage at the exporter’s yard, until its 30th birthday and ship it then; we are pricing that storage (V25). The calculator shows the landed cost on both dates for any car under 30.
Is an AP2 worth waiting for?
No. Japanese-market AP2s were built from late 2005, so none turns 30 before 2035. Price it as a car you register now; the higher Irish value makes the VRT larger than on an AP1.
If it only ever goes to the track, do I still pay VRT?
Yes. A vehicle kept in the State must be registered within 30 days of arrival, and possession of an unregistered vehicle is an offence under the Finance Act 1992. Revenue’s competition exemption covers a car that comes in for an event and leaves again, not one that lives here. We are confirming this in writing (V21) and will not advise around it.
How long does the import take?
Typically 8 to 14 weeks from auction to Irish plates: a week or two in Japan for deregistration and export paperwork, four to six at sea, then customs clearance, the NCTS appointment and registration.
Price a real S2000
Put a real auction listing into the calculator: hammer price, mileage and the CO2 figure if you have it. You get every cost line and a range, and you can send it to us for sourcing from there.
Other models
Rules version 2026-09-17. Estimates only; VRT is assessed by Revenue at registration. Page computed at build time; the calculator uses the exchange rate of the day.