New Honda Prelude Hybrid (Concept moving to Production)

[RobbJK]

Surprised nobody had posted yet about the reveal of the Prelude concept from the Tokyo motor show the other day. Initially thought to be an EV, Honda PR later clarified on Twitter that it would indeed be a hybrid and not a full on EV, and it will be FWD.

No other specs were given, but it already looks to be about 95% production ready minus all the carbon fiber it has.

Knowing it'll be a hybrid it might not come in manual form, which I know will alienate a lot of potential buyers, unless Honda uses a different hybrid setup compared to the accord/civic/CRV. Size wise it looks to be roughly the size of the 10th gen civic coupe, possibly a slightly lower roofline, possibly a touch wider and with more of the lenth shifted to the nose/cabin pulled back.

C&D was the first to note they thought it might be a hybrid and not a full EV (confirmed later in the evening). Their guess is that it will most likely ride on the same platform as the civic/accord and possibly use a more powerful version of the hybrid setup from the accord/civic.

I think it has the potential to be a great option for those that wanted an Integra coupe to happen, as well as previous civic and accord coupe buyers, and a potential BRZ/GR86 competitor if they keep the performance/price in a similar range, rather than going for the $50k+ high performance supra route. I am very excited personally to see how this future vehicle shakes out and what Honda does because if the price and performance is right, I will be first in line.

 

[Frenzal]

There is a thread in the Type S section of the forum...

 

[NecroFIesh]

NEW PRELUDE

-G

 

[bpebler]

I also heard that the CTR & ITS will likely have a hybrid engine in the near future - 2026.

 

[Integra23]

My thoughts

 

[bpebler]

At first glance yesterday I definitely thought it was a Toyota at first. It just sorta has the shape of the GR86/BRZ - but totally looks more like a Prius with the light designs.

 

[Souk24nior]

Surprised nobody had posted yet about the reveal of the Prelude concept from the Tokyo motor show the other day. Initially thought to be an EV, Honda PR later clarified on Twitter that it would indeed be a hybrid and not a full on EV, and it will be FWD.

No other specs were given, but it already looks to be about 95% production ready minus all the carbon fiber it has.

Knowing it'll be a hybrid it might not come in manual form, which I know will alienate a lot of potential buyers, unless Honda uses a different hybrid setup compared to the accord/civic/CRV. Size wise it looks to be roughly the size of the 10th gen civic coupe, possibly a slightly lower roofline, possibly a touch wider and with more of the lenth shifted to the nose/cabin pulled back.

C&D was the first to note they thought it might be a hybrid and not a full EV (confirmed later in the evening). Their guess is that it will most likely ride on the same platform as the civic/accord and possibly use a more powerful version of the hybrid setup from the accord/civic.

I think it has the potential to be a great option for those that wanted an Integra coupe to happen, as well as previous civic and accord coupe buyers, and a potential BRZ/GR86 competitor if they keep the performance/price in a similar range, rather than going for the $50k+ high performance supra route. I am very excited personally to see how this future vehicle shakes out and what Honda does because if the price and performance is right, I will be first in line.

They can do like the crz, which was a cool car. L15 Hybrid with a 6 speed. Or just rebadge it an Integra type r with the k20 and fat wang (spoiler) on the hatch. How many fan boys would line up to throw down marked up dealer prices for this?

 

[Jim Flex]

Honda makes the best hybrids on the market right now. I hope that Honda will make few changes to this concept and leave all the hybrid advantages it has yet invented

 

[Integra23]

Honda makes the best hybrids on the market right now. I hope that Honda will make few changes to this concept and leave all the hybrid advantages it has yet invented

I'd say Toyota has a lot more hybrids on the road then any manufacturer out there.

 

[RobbJK]

Some possible new Prelude tidbits and rumors

Kirk Kreifels posted a video appearing to show that Honda has officially formed a marketing team for the new Prelude and that it would debut in 2025. I estimated we might see the finished reveal LATE 2024 with a mid-2025 release as a 2026 model.

https://www.newprelude.org/threads/honda-prelude-to-debut-in-2025.25/#post-48

News from Temple of VTEC also states that at a dealer meeting in Vegas a red version of the Prelude was shown and according to (unconfirmed) sources the Prelude was riding on the same adjustable suspension as the CTR, and most likely rides on the CTR platform as it's starting point and featured a 2-motor hybrid system. No word on transmission possibilities.

https://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1519248

If it does in fact ride on the widened CTR platform and uses (at least in some trim level version) the CTR adjustable suspension then it should be a given that it will handle pretty well - most likely tuned to be softer for more of that GT coupe vibe they want to go for. It also most likely reveals some basic specs for the prelude like wheelbase and width, while I'm sure length will be within inches of the CRT/Civic Hatchback and a few inches lopped off roof height.

Honda has stated that the Prelude's powertrain would be optimized for power over outright efficiency, however I don't expect Honda to get too wild with the 2.0 Hybrid setup beyond maybe upping power to 215-220. (a good future upgrade for the accord hybrids maybe too). With the substantially larger/heavier accord hybrid managing 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds it doesn't seem unrealistic that a smaller/lighter more powerful Prelude could manage a 6 second sprint.

It remains to be seen or hinted if Honda will try and figure out some way to make a manual work with the prelude, anything is possible, but the current way that system functions makes stepped gears unnecessary since the electric motor(s) do most of the driving 90% of the time. But honda definitely likes to appeal to the purist crowd as well - so there's hope.

There was also somewhere I saw (can't remember exactly which source/website/video) that mentioned a price point was quoted (in Yen) that converted to about $31k USD starting price, which I think that $31-35k price spread for the Prelude would be perfect.

 

[ckone2030]

Some possible new Prelude tidbits and rumors

Kirk Kreifels posted a video appearing to show that Honda has officially formed a marketing team for the new Prelude and that it would debut in 2025. I estimated we might see the finished reveal LATE 2024 with a mid-2025 release as a 2026 model.

https://www.newprelude.org/threads/honda-prelude-to-debut-in-2025.25/#post-48

News from Temple of VTEC also states that at a dealer meeting in Vegas a red version of the Prelude was shown and according to (unconfirmed) sources the Prelude was riding on the same adjustable suspension as the CTR, and most likely rides on the CTR platform as it's starting point and featured a 2-motor hybrid system. No word on transmission possibilities.

https://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1519248

If it does in fact ride on the widened CTR platform and uses (at least in some trim level version) the CTR adjustable suspension then it should be a given that it will handle pretty well - most likely tuned to be softer for more of that GT coupe vibe they want to go for. It also most likely reveals some basic specs for the prelude like wheelbase and width, while I'm sure length will be within inches of the CRT/Civic Hatchback and a few inches lopped off roof height.

Honda has stated that the Prelude's powertrain would be optimized for power over outright efficiency, however I don't expect Honda to get too wild with the 2.0 Hybrid setup beyond maybe upping power to 215-220. (a good future upgrade for the accord hybrids maybe too). With the substantially larger/heavier accord hybrid managing 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds it doesn't seem unrealistic that a smaller/lighter more powerful Prelude could manage a 6 second sprint.

It remains to be seen or hinted if Honda will try and figure out some way to make a manual work with the prelude, anything is possible, but the current way that system functions makes stepped gears unnecessary since the electric motor(s) do most of the driving 90% of the time. But honda definitely likes to appeal to the purist crowd as well - so there's hope.

There was also somewhere I saw (can't remember exactly which source/website/video) that mentioned a price point was quoted (in Yen) that converted to about $31k USD starting price, which I think that $31-35k price spread for the Prelude would be perfect.

On the last CivicX event, Honda Pro Jason joined us for lunch. He drove all the way to NC from CA after meeting with Honda team there. He also confirmed that the new Prelude will be built on the FL5 platform. Nothing else was shared but even that made all of us excited.

 

[RobbJK]

On the last CivicX event, Honda Pro Jason joined us for lunch. He drove all the way to NC from CA after meeting with Honda team there. He also confirmed that the new Prelude will be built on the FL5 platform. Nothing else was shared but even that made all of us excited.

That is super cool and some much needed confirmation for other rumors. Having the Prelude being built on the FL5 platform is a great start - even if it isn't ultra powerful or a track beast, it will definitely have some good DNA going for it and open up the possibility for easy tuning and modifications too.

 

[Integra23]

Watch it be a dud like the CRZ was.

 

[NoelPR]

On the last CivicX event, Honda Pro Jason joined us for lunch. He drove all the way to NC from CA after meeting with Honda team there. He also confirmed that the new Prelude will be built on the FL5 platform. Nothing else was shared but even that made all of us excited.

Dude
That guy is unreliable in terms of Honda news.
Never forget his claim that the 10th SI was going to come out with a 2.0T

 

[RobbJK]

Video from the Long Beach Grand Prix showing off a red variant of the Prelude (must not have been much press there as this and 1 clip by HondaProJason are the only videos I could find). Note they seem to have replaced the front center LED with a body color painted bar and it is wearing red brake calipers instead of the blue ones from the white concept car. Surprisingly the front and rear lower garnishes are still wearing the blue LED stripes seen on the original concept as well. This is most likely the car the dealers saw at their Vegas conference.