Everyone likes a good surprise. Unexpected postcards, thoughtful gifts, even the right unexpected guest. Well, if there was any surprise of the Los Angeles Auto Show, it was the Honda Prelude concept showing up fresh off the Japan Mobility Show stand. Rest assured, dear readers, it’s every bit as good as you hoped.
The Prelude concept arrived in Los Angeles basically unannounced, and thanks to bailing on Hyundai unveiling the Santa Fe for the third time this year, I had it all to myself for a bit. While this concept obviously isn’t production-spec, it’s farther along than you’d think, and the details are absolutely beautiful.
The Prelude concept certainly gets size right. It’s hard to judge how large a car is through pictures, particularly under the bright lights and backdrops of auto show stands. Thankfully, this car seems to have roughly the footprint of a tenth-generation Honda Civic Coupe, so it’s still beautifully small. If you feared that the reborn Prelude would be Accord Coupe-sized, you have nothing to worry about.
Honda hasn’t exactly been secretive about plans for production, and the details on the Prelude certainly capture this intent. Never mind side view mirrors, here’s a weird one for a concept car: The Prelude has wiper blades, wiper arms, and cowl plastics. Unexpected additions, especially considering the cost of such parts.
Notice anything missing here? If the Prelude is indeed a hybrid, the absence of an exhaust tip suggests this is either just a pusher model, or a display model with low-speed electric propulsion. There’s still suspension and hubs and whatnot under here, but don’t consider this finalized underneath.
Speaking of mechanical bits, the concept sports Continental Sportcontact 6 summer tires, massive Brembo fixed calipers, and ventilated discs. Think sporty, but not exactly Civic Type R. Essentially, it’s appropriate rolling stock for a mature coupe, so Honda definitely understands its mission.
Above all else, the Prelude concept is beautiful, a sight for sore eyes amid bloated crossovers and cars that just don’t want to be cars. This isn’t trying to be a mobility solution, it’s not trying to pioneer new methods of distraction, its target customer isn’t one of those couples you see on House Hunters. It’s a sports coupe, a proper, delicately styled, effortlessly elegant sports coupe for people who like to dream rather than simply consume. It’s romance, bloody romance, in a callous era of techno-rationalism. Who knew that’s all Honda needed to have the best car of the show?
Some more photos:
(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal)
Editor’s Note: Thomas wants me to note that he finds the new Civic Type R to be equally as exciting as this Prelude. Since a tie means the headline is still accurate, I left it be. -DT
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I love this and after thirty plus years of being a mostly Toyota person – this might be my first Honda (unless Toyota brings back the Prelude’s competitor the Celica in a similar form factor).
Why wasn’t this body also used as the Integra 2 door that everyone was hoping for? At least these might reach Australia. Hondas management and agency model here downunder has killed it’s Australian market.
I like this, but I keep seeing the 300Z in it. Is that true in person, or does this profile look distinct?
Do we think this thing is going to be full-electric or hybrid?
Either way, I would totally consider this thing as a daily driver.
Information is pointing to it being a hybrid
I like it. I want to see it in some extremely bold colors. Like peach.
I would rock a peach colored coupe so hard, especially if it had a complementing interior
One of the things I like about the Forza Horizon games is the color options. I’d started playing around with a lot of sports/exotic cars and found out peach looks REALLY good on a lot of them. First one I did it to was a Lamborghini Merciélago.
I want a retro copper orange like the original prelude had.
These pics really make the rest of the car look great…however… these pictures also highlight that the front end just doesn’t look right to me. Dare I say it looks ugly?
I’d like to see another Prelude exist, but they need to clean up that grille/headlight intersection. It’s kind of a shame because Honda/Acura have FINALLY dialed in their styling for current products (mostly).
Looks a little bit like a Disney villain hatching an evil plan. You know how their faces get all scrunched down with the oversized smile?
I think it captures the retro-90s thing that the industry has going on right now pretty well.
Ah good point, I guess the front end does have a bit of the 4th gen Prelude look. Coincidentally I think the 4th gen prelude is the worst looking generation.
I’d say best to worst looking Prelude generations go as follows:
5th Gen, 3rd Gen, 2nd Gen, 1st Gen, 4th Gen
But that’s just my opinion that zero people have asked for haha
(edit: Why don’t bullets/numbered lists show up correctly in comments?)
I love it. If I were in the market for a small car, this could be it. Also like the Integra and the Nissan Z car.. Good choices to have if you have an aversion to european cars like I do.
This and the Prius are welcome refreshes. Beautiful design and I was told the Porsche script was Honda giving their designers some liberty. The 100% blacked out windows = no interior features as yet.
I actually really like the Porsche script. It has charm on a car that’s about fun not utility.
Encouraging signs of life from Honda’s design department…but, have we become so accustomed to poorly designed cars that a 90’s-era Mitsubishi Eclipse with CR-Z front/rear fascia grafted on represents a return to good form?
Yes.
Okay, so this WAS an actual car that Honda brought. I didn’t have time to stop, open photos and really look on my phone earlier, and I actually thought folks were roasting some current-era Porsche product by calling it a “Civic coupe” when I was just doomscrolling on the toilet earlier. That light bar/marque badge/script model name underneath combo is straight outta parsh.
Not just me, then: the straight rear shot, and the lede 3/4 front one both whispered ‘Porsche’ to me—but I couldn’t identify the tells. Maybe that front angle suggests a Cayman?
I thought “huhh, new Cayman? I thought parsh was mostly skipping* this show?” but didn’t linger longer on it because I didn’t see a HUGE wing that would signify “relevant to my interests” and I was almost done poopin’.
[*They’re there via Galpin—but not as like, Porsche AG or PCNA—on the official list, so thanks to this site’s corporate dealership overlords for bringing SOME parsh. That’s just not a setup where I’d expect parsh to unveil a brand-new car. So, that’s why it’d be the perfect time to surprise everyone with a new car. Whip out a manual GT4 RS on behalf of Big Daddy Brand or you’re all dead to me.]
I can’t even tell if it says
H O N D A
or
P A R S H
Was this part of a competition to make the trunk door as small as possible?
I’m already mourning my BMW Z4 Coupe with its big hatch every time I post all the bits of my mountain bike through the tiny slot in the back of my GT86. This Prelude will mean a bike rack, which is great for showing off my retro MTB and also having it stolen.
As with every Prelude that preludes it, I wish my little brother would buy one.
Keep complaining about trunk access and you’ll have to change your name to John Davis.
(I kid).
Although the Prelude’s trunk was able to just barely fit our standard luggage set, larger items had to be stowed through the flip-down rear seat due to the rather narrow trunk opening
Good access is a thing of the past. If you ask a customer to pick between a car designed to be useful that has a 3.5 star crash rating, and a fortress of blind spots and tiny openings with five stars, they’re going to buy the five star one, promptly run over a pedestrian, and somebody is going to blame the speed limits.
If this is a prelude, can’t wait to see what’s next.
Interlude? Hmm, Integra already released. Who knows!
I hear they’ll be releasing a gas-only version called the Epilogue.
Just an Insight in a different shape.