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Honda is constructing a sports activities automotive as soon as once more. The Japanese automotive firm has simply confirmed that it will likely be constructing a brand new era of the Prelude and that the automotive shall be coming to the U.S.
It’s the primary Honda coupe in 5 years, and it marks the return of a nameplate that we’ve got been lacking for greater than 20.
Manufacturing Automotive Ought to Look Simply Like 2023 Idea
(Photograph/Honda)
When Honda revealed its affordable-looking Prelude Idea automotive on the Tokyo auto present final yr, it was probably the most thrilling new automotive from Honda in years. After it dropped the Civic Coupe in 2020, Honda’s SUV-heavy lineup wasn’t precisely interesting to lovers in the best way that it had been because the 1978 launch of the unique Prelude.
However all is forgiven now that the Honda Prelude Idea is coming to life and coming to American sellers.
The automotive shall be a hybrid, utilizing Honda’s newest two-motor hybrid system, and Honda has some tips in retailer to verify it’s a driver’s automotive identical to the Preludes that, effectively, preluded it.
Sure, the Sports activities Coupe Is a Hybrid
(Photograph/Honda)
Not everybody shall be thrilled the brand new Prelude is a hybrid, but it surely shouldn’t come as a shock. Not simply because electrification is occurring to almost each new car, however as a result of the Prelude has all the time been on the vanguard of tech for the automotive firm. Options like four-wheel steering and a torque-vectoring entrance differential made their debuts right here, amongst others.
Honda’s two-motor hybrid system, as utilized in automobiles just like the CR-V, Accord, and Civic, doesn’t use a transmission. As a substitute, it has one motor pushed by the engine to cost the battery and a second to energy the wheels. A clutch lets the engine drive the tires straight in some freeway situations.
A function Honda calls Linear Shift Management on its different hybrids makes them act extra like automobiles with typical automatics. It delivers pretend shifts and the sensation of the automotive revving even when it isn’t. The Prelude will get Honda S+ Shift, which Honda says is an development of that.
It didn’t elaborate, however one thing just like the pretend engine noises and shifts of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N EV could be tons of enjoyable on a automotive like this.
Prelude May Outrun Civic Si
(Photograph/Honda)
Within the Civic Hybrid, the two-motor system makes 212 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque. That’s sufficient to make it faster than the gas-only Civic Si, which bodes effectively for the Prelude being a enjoyable compact sports activities automotive.
The Prelude’s styling is a bit unusual for Honda. It’s very Toyota Prius-like, due to the entrance LED mild bar and the glass trim on the rear. But it surely’s higher wanting than even the most recent Prius, and, in fact, it’s a two-door coupe.
Honda isn’t saying a lot in regards to the new mannequin, but it surely did present the idea with Brembo brakes and another particulars that promise to make it sporty.
Reborn Entrance-Drive Coupe in a World of Its Personal
(Photograph/Honda)
The Prelude shall be in a section of just about one when it arrives at U.S. sellers in late 2025. The front-drive sporty coupe was a significant section with greater than a dozen entries. At this time, there shall be this automotive and nearly nothing else. The Fiat 500e and Mini Cooper 2-Door are the closest, although each are hatchbacks.
If Honda can carry this automotive to marketplace for round $30,000, which is near the beginning value of the Civic Hatchback hybrid, it ought to have a winner — a sports activities coupe for the worth of a Toyota GR86 and effectively underneath one thing just like the $43,000 Nissan Z.
