At this point, it’s safe to say that the new Honda Prelude is one of the most anticipated vehicles of the year. I mean, a three-door liftback coupe with hybrid economy and serious handling hardware? That’s a beautiful merger of pragmatism and idealism. But what if you can’t make a full-sized Prelude work for you? Japanese scale-model and remote-controlled car firm Tamiya will soon be able to help.
In some ways, the new Prelude feels like a shot at redemption—a sporty liftback hybrid coupe that aims to address criticisms levelled at the CR-Z of the early 2010s. Unlike that earlier model, the new Prelude features rear seats that actually look usable, promises decent horsepower, and uses suspension lessons learned from the legendary Civic Type R. While it won’t be available with a manual gearbox, it does have a simulated paddle shift mode that blends artificial electronic shifts with computer-controlled noises in the pursuit of evoking the feel of Honda’s old high-revving naturally aspirated models.
What’s more, the Prelude looks great, and it’s coming in hot in the grand scheme of things. Honda’s targeting a market launch this year, roughly two years after showing off the concept model at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show. This timeline suggests Honda’s had a Prelude rebirth in the works for a while, and you should be able to buy one relatively soon. However, if you don’t have space in your garage or enough saved for a downpayment, you’ll still soon be able to buy a new Prelude, just one that’ll fit on your desk.
Tamiya has announced on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that it’s going to be selling a model car kit of the new Prelude, and it looks pretty great. I mean, just look at the sheer number of pieces in the photo above. Bumpers, door cards, glass, trim, seats, valences, door cards, pretty much everything you could want aside from an opening hood.
Once it’s all assembled, it doesn’t just look wonderfully life-like, but it also gives you stuff to play with. Check out the opening hatch with its own little struts, and reliefs for the folding rear seats molded into the scaled-down interior plastics. Also, check out how all the exterior details have come together. For instance, the opaque housings for the taillights, normally hidden behind the hatch, look surprisingly production-like, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the real car shares that sort of fitment.
【会場発表】1/24 新型 Honda プレリュード【仮称】(ITEM:27373)●2025年デビュー予定の新型プレリュードを、グライダーを思わせる流麗なスタイルでモデル化。アクセサリー類や金属インレットマークも付属。
タミヤブースでは実車も同時展示中です！※発売時期・価格は未定 #静岡ホビーショー #タミヤ pic.twitter.com/JoqRIoAoZi— タミヤ スケールモデル (@tamiya_plamodel) May 14, 2025
Although the Tamiya Prelude kit isn’t available yet, it carries a SKU of 27373, so you’ll know what to look for when pre-orders open up. Sure, it probably won’t be dirt-cheap, but this scale model will be far less expensive than a full-scale Honda Prelude and would look great in your office, on your mantle, or wherever you keep model cars.
Top graphic credit: depositphotos/Tamiya
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Double head slap. I forgot all about the coming Prelude. Even worse, I have a 1993 Grand Cherokee Tamiya 1/24 model in my closet that I never put together. You guys can really shake the cobwebs.
My kid has a 97′ Prelude and he is a huge fan of anything Prelude. It would be amazing to get him the new Prelude, but unless I win the lottery it’s probably not going to happen. So this is great news! Tamiya makes great kits and building them is hella fun. Can’t wait!
Topshot is photoshop, but based on the likely 1:32nd scale tank, it looks like 1:24/25th scale?
This is the first time I have seen any picture confirming this to be a liftback. It kind of seals the deal for me. I recently drove an Accord with the eCVT and it didn’t break my heart. As an MT driver I like a third pedal not so much for gear selection but as instant engine disengagement in poor winter/skid conditions, but otherwise I was impressed with the ‘feel’ of the driveline. I don’t need artificial ‘gears’ and pointless noises. If those can be turned off, this might be my next vehicle. I’ll also have to put up with the stupid stick on tablet stuff, but that seems unavoidable these days. :SIGH:
I saw a video about it a little while ago, and the fake “gears” thing is a special mode you go into with the press of a button (S+ or something), so you shouldn’t even have to worry about turning it off.
I’m pretty excited to find out more about the new Prelude. Excited enough that I read a whole article about a model car!
I really like how compact it is. /s
Long time model car builder here. Modern Tamiya kits beggar belief in terms of how well they go together and how well they represent their subject. As good as Tamiya has always been, they’ve stepped up their game the last few years. It’s interesting that they’ve chosen the Prelude, as they’ve stepped away from mass-market subjects over the last decade or so and scaled back on their new automotive releases. I’m looking forward to picking this one up, especially as one of the first models I built in the 80s was a Tamiya 2nd generation Prelude!
It’s just a shame they do so few newly-tooled car kits anymore.