Honda officially confirmed today that the Prelude is coming back to the U.S. and is scheduled to arrive sometime in late 2025. We already knew that Honda was working on a next-gen Prelude, but its U.S. availability was unknown. After months of teasers, tips, and rumors, in an effort to provide some clarity, the company announced its North American revival in a press release, marking the nameplate’s return after a nearly 24-year hiatus. As expected, the new Prelude will arrive as a gas-electric hybrid model, corroborating with past reports.
In addition to celebrating the return of one of its most beloved models, the Big H is killing two birds with one stone by also commemorating 25 years of offering gas-electric hybrid models in the U.S. market. Back in 1999, Honda introduced its first-ever hybrid model, the Insight, which also holds the title as the first gas-electric hybrid vehicle available in North America. It beat the original Toyota Prius’s landing on North American shores by seven months. With the new Prelude, Honda seeks to continue that legacy by combining its love for making fun-to-drive cars with a hybrid powertrain, all packaged into one of its most iconic sports cars.
The New Prelude Will Perpetuate Honda’s “Joy of Driving” Campaign
The Prelude has always been a car for driving enthusiasts and Honda is very aware of this. To keep with tradition, Honda says the new Prelude will continue this legacy with driving dynamics in mind and will introduce the company’s first-ever Honda S+ Shift drive mode. It’s an evolution of the company’s Linear Shift Control mode for its hybrid system, which simulates stepped gearing. Honda’s gas-electric hybrid propulsion system otherwise depends on a continuously variable transmission, versus a conventional torque converter-based automatic.
Not only will the new drive mode provide the Prelude with a more engaging driving experience, the system is said to optimize power delivery by ensuring that the hybrid powertrain delivers peak performance when needed.
“The return of the Honda Prelude as a hybrid-electric sports model demonstrates our continued commitment to offer a variety of exhilarating products to meet the needs of our customers,” Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda Auto Sales, in official statement. “The first three products in the Honda lineup in the 1970s were Civic, Accord and Prelude, and soon all three will be back together again in our passenger car lineup as hybrids.”
Honda Discontinued Its Last Prelude Back In 2001
The last time Honda sold a Prelude was back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with production ending in 2001 after a total of five generations. Originally introduced in 1978, the Prelude helped pioneer some notable industry innovations, such as four wheel steering, colloquially badged “4WS” in Honda speak, and torque vectoring control, or “Active Torque Transfer System,” or ATTS as Honda called it.
This allowed the Prelude to go down in history as one of the best-handling front-wheel-drive vehicles, allowing Honda to establish its repretoire for making fun-to-drive, yet affordable cars. Not much else is known about the new Prelude, but more speculation suggests that the new model will utilize a similar gas-hybrid system as found in the latest and greatest Civic Hybrid.
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