The Honda Prelude will return to the U.S. by late 2025, Honda announced on Tuesday.
The car, which will likely arrive as a 2026 model given the timing, will be a production version of the Prelude concept rolled out at the 2023 Tokyo auto show, and it will retain the show car’s hybrid powertrain. Prototypes spotted in the wild suggest the production model will also look almost identical to the show car.
The Prelude nameplate launched in Japan in 1978, and there have been five generations so far. Historically, the cars have been sporty front-wheel-drive coupes with sleek bodywork covering mechanicals from mainstream models, and that appears to be the case with the upcoming sixth generation.
The powertrain will be a version of Honda’s 2-motor hybrid system and is expected to be the same setup found in the latest Civic Hybrid that arrived for the 2025 model year. The Civic Hybrid’s powertrain is rated at 220 hp and consists of a 2.0-liter inline-4 mated to its hybrid transmission, with drive going to the front wheels only.
Honda Prelude concept
Previous Preludes have come with features that were novel at the time, such as rear-wheel steering and active torque vectoring. The modern sixth-generation Prelude will continue that tradition with a feature called Honda S+ Shift. The feature is a drive mode that is expected to deliver a more emotional driving experience by simulating gear shifts.
While the Prelude is returning as a hybrid, Honda remains committed to launching electric and fuel cell vehicles. While announcing the Prelude plans, Honda reiterated its plans to have 100% of its lineup consist purely of EVs and fuel cell vehicles by 2040. The automaker plans to launch multiple zero-emission vehicles in quick succession starting in late 2025 with the first of the new 0 Series of EVs.
