The Honda Prelude Is Back

At this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Honda is bringing back the Prelude!

The original Prelude made its European debut 45 years ago and was produced until 2001. The new Prelude is aimed to be a fitting return for the nameplate, as it blends style with a hybrid powertrain.

The name “Prelude” refers to an introductory piece of music, and appropriately positions the car as a forerunner to future models that highlight Honda’s commitment to sports performance – an example of Honda bringing the “joy of driving” to customers across Europe.

Tomoyuki Yamagami, Chief Engineer and Large Project Leader, at Honda, said: “The new Prelude not only marks the latest chapter in our ever-evolving hybrid story, it is also the product of 25 years of pioneering hybrid research and development. Ensuring this model maintains its ‘sporty’ DNA by perfectly blending the efficiency and environmental advantages of electrified driving with an exhilarating experience behind the wheel – liberating users from their daily lives with increased driving pleasure.”

“In addition, the Prelude demonstrates the continued importance of hybrid powertrains as part of Honda’s automobile electrification strategy – a key step towards our commitment for 100% of new vehicle sales to be battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell by 2040.”

25 Years Of Honda

This year marks Honda’s 25th anniversary of hybrid technology, starting with the Insight coupe, which became Europe’s first mass-produced hybrid model in 1999. Since then, Honda has been at the forefront of developing petrol-electric powertrains.

After the Insight, Honda introduced the Civic IMA in 2003, featuring a continuously variable transmission (CVT) paired with a 1.3-litre i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine and a 20-horsepower electric motor for enhanced fuel efficiency. Seven years later, the CR-Z debuted, combining Honda’s unique IMA parallel hybrid system with a 1.5-litre petrol engine and manual transmission.

In 2011, the Jazz Hybrid continued to provide practicality, including “Magic Seats” and 300-litres of boot space, thanks to the compact Honda IMA hybrid system. The 2016 arrival of the NSX introduced the supercar segment to the most technologically advanced all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain of its time.

Today, Honda’s entire mainstream range is fully electrified, with the Jazz, Civic, HR-V, ZR-V, and CR-V all featuring e-powertrains as standard. These advanced powertrains transition between EV, hybrid, and engine drive modes without driver input, offering ease of use, a rewarding driving experience, and highly competitive efficiency and emissions.