Honda Prelude News

Honda has finally confirmed details of its much anticipated next-gen Prelude, which is already confirmed for an Australian launch next year.

Honda has finally outed the full production-ready version of its reborn Prelude sports car and the good news is, it’s locked in for Australia.

The interior of the eagerly awaited next-gen Honda Prelude has been revealed thanks to a Japanese YouTuber who has given us a glimpse into the cabin.When the Prelude concept made its debut in 2023 at the Tokyo mobility show it had blacked-out windows so the interior remained a mystery. It’s also highly unlikely it even had a finished interior at that point.Now thanks to Japanese YouTuber Unadon we’ve been given a guided tour inside the two-door 2+2 seater sports car and it's not quite as groundbreaking as we hoped.If anything the cabin, dashboard, controls and instruments are much the same as the cockpit in the current Honda Civic.Sure the new Prelude’s cabin is sporty and the two-tone sports seats with embossed Prelude headrests look modern and luxurious, but the climate control dials, honeycomb mesh air vents and steering wheel will all be familiar to anybody who has bought a Honda in the past few years.The rear seat is more or less a hard grey-coloured featureless bench without any form of obvious lateral support or even moulding for rear passengers.It’s unlikely the back seats will ever house the two people they’re designed to accommodate given the lack of space back there with the heavily sloped roofline and limited legroom. Unadon discovered how cramped it is when we ventured back there. There are also two ISOFIX points if child seats need to be installed.Unadon also gives us a look at the boot under the Prelude's liftback tailgate, revealing a small but deep area behind the rear seats that appears to be about 200 litres in capacity. He also folds the rear seats down to open up even more load carrying space.The Prelude, which is expected to make its European launch by the middle of 2025, will be hybrid only and use a petrol-electric system similar to the unit in the Civic. A manual transmission won't be available either.It's still not been confirmed for Australia, but our fingers are crossed.

Honda has confirmed the new Honda Prelude will go on sale from late 2025 to early 2026, with hybrid power and a design very faithful to the prototype.

There’s good news and bad news if you were interested in the idea of the Honda Prelude sports car revival.

Japan is on a roll. Not since the heyday of the ’80s and early ‘90s has its car industry been so confident and progressive, taking wild chances when – in the past – things would have been played way too safe.

The Honda Prelude name has been absent from the market for more than two decades, but it looks set for a comeback in the next two years. Ahead of an appearance at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Honda has shown off the (very close to production-looking) concept in a new red paint hue. Additionally, the British arm of the marque confirmed to publication Autocar that the hybrid sports coupe it will launch in the United Kingdom in the middle of this decade. Previous intelligence suggests the Prelude will begin production in 2026 and will be a step in lowering Honda’s emissions while creating desirable, enthusiast-focused cars. Beyond it being a hybrid, nothing else is known of the Prelude’s powertrain. There are musings it could use a version of the existing Civic’s e:HEV petrol-electric set-up, potentially making more than the Civic's 135kW and 315Nm for a sportier feel. Honda has not commented, but a manual transmission is not off the cards – remember the three-pedal hybrid CR-Z?Visually, the low and wide Prelude concept has a distinct coupe aesthetics, and rides on attractive 20-inch alloy wheels. It channels classy vibes – more Volkswagen Scirocco than boy racer Hyundai i30 N or Civic Type R.“Ensuring this model maintains its ‘sporty’ DNA by perfectly blending the efficiency and environmental advantages of electrified driving with an exhilarating experience behind the wheel – liberating users from their daily lives with increased driving pleasure,” said Chief Engineer and Large Project Leader Tomoyuki Yamagami.How exactly Honda will achieve a pleasurable drive is unclear but the Prelude is likely to draw on the brand’s high-revving roots potentially with sound augmentation – or even natural noise. Tactility will matter hugely so expect Honda’s engineers to outfit the Prelude’s cabin with traditional physical knobs and buttons for high-traffic touchpoints, rather than trendy screen-heavy interaction. Honda’s new coupe model will most likely adopt the Civic’s chassis. It features aluminium components in the sub frames and independent multi-link suspension all around. The Prelude won't be Japan's only new sports car, with Toyota in particular reviving historic names including MR2 and Celica along with big updates for GR 86 and Supra.Details for the Prelude's Australia release remain a mystery. Expect more noise about the coupe in the coming months and years.

Honda has confirmed its new Prelude coupe will enter production around the middle of the decade as a global model, but track enthusiasts should keep their expectations in check.

They say great minds think alike, in which case there are plenty of great minds across the Japanese car industry because they all decided to bring sports cars to the 2023 Tokyo Mobility Show.