Without being the most famous, the Honda Prelude remains one of the symbols of fun and affordable Japanese coupes. Symbols which, however, have mostly disappeared, at least in Europe where taxation makes it difficult to offer sports cars at prices that remain affordable.
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While the very popular Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR86 duo is no longer available on the European market, which was also not favored by the Nissan Z, Honda announces the return of its Prelude. Prefigured with a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of 2023, the sixth generation of the model, which ended in 2000, will not ignore Europe. It will be marketed there from the first half of 2026, Honda announces.
And if the next Prelude can afford to be marketed in Europe, it is because it will be equipped with a hybrid engine that emits less CO2. This announcement is also an opportunity for Honda to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its hybrid technology, which first appeared in 1999 with the Insight, the first mass-produced hybrid car to be marketed outside Japan, where Toyota had offered its Prius since 1997.
A gear change simulation system
The Preludes of yesteryear were four-cylinder front-wheel drive vehicles and it is highly likely that the sixth generation of the model will continue the tradition. Honda is already announcing a new S+ Shift technology simulating “the sound and feel of rapid automatic gear changes”. This should probably be an evolution of the gear simulation system currently offered on Honda’s series-parallel hybrids, in which the gasoline engine serves as a generator for the electric part at low speed and is not directly connected to the wheels. than with a fixed gear engaged at high speed. A way to limit consumption, but which does not necessarily make driving enthusiasts dream.
With its S+ Shift technology, Honda hopes to attract driving enthusiasts, as Hyundai has achieved with its Ioniq 5 N electric car.
© Honda
Let’s hope that this hybrid Prelude still manages to put a smile on its drivers’ faces. Remember that the modern NSX, which has also gone hybrid, has not entirely won over enthusiasts of the model, in particular because of its high mass.
Furthermore, despite its hybridization, the Prelude must manage to maintain CO emissions2 low if it wants to remain accessible in France, where the ecological penalty scale is tightened from year to year.
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