Japan Mobility Show 2023: Honda brings back Prelude as hybrid-electric vehicle

Clarification: Honda's American spokesperson while replying to comment on the X (formally Twitter) has clarified that the Prelude Concept is not a fully battery electric vehicle but a hybrid-electric model.

While most carmakers are showcasing new and concept offerings at the Japan Mobility, a few carmakers have also surprised us with a couple of sports cars, and one of them is from the Japanese automaker Honda. The brand has brought back the Prelude moniker as a hybrid-electric two-door coupe at the ongoing Japan Mobility Show 2023. The original Prelude has seen five generations over two decades. The Prelude was one of the cars from Honda that came with music-themed names similar to the Accord, Jazz, Ballade, Concerto, and Quintet.

Honda Prelude concept: Design

The Prelude concept has a sporty appeal with a low-slung stance. It features a pointed and partly closed-off front end, symmetrical and flowing lines, a slanted roofline, flush door handles, door-mounted outside door mirrors, split headlight setup, black alloy wheels paired with blue Brembo brakes, and a small boot-lip spoiler. Overall, the Prelude appears to be a production-spec model rather than a concept vehicle.

Honda Prelude concept: Performance and powertrain

While the previous version of the news piece claimed that the Prelude concept was an EV, it is now clear, after a statement from Andrew Quillin, Public Relations official of Honda America, that it would be a hybrid-electric sports coupe. Unfortunately, the details about its powertrain and power outputs are scarce. But we expect Honda to equip with a powerful hybrid powertrain that already does a duty in its other models.

Toshihiro Mibe, CEO of Honda, said that the word prelude means an introductory or preceding performance." He added, "This model will become the prelude for our future models, which will inherit the 'joy of driving' into the full-fledged electrified future and embody Honda's unalterable sports mindset."

Having said that, it is still unclear whether Honda intends to revive the Prelude nameplate and put that into series production. If it does so, it would be interesting to know the underpinnings of the two-seater sports coupe along with its power output and acceleration figures. It is to be noted that Honda also sold two coupes in the past, namely the Accord coupe and Civic coupe. But it discontinued the Accord coupe about six years ago, while the Civic coupe was discontinued around three years ago.

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