Honda’s surprise 2023 debut is now an official 2025 launch: The new hybrid sport coupe Honda has seen fit to name Prelude will come to America late in 2025. So if the notion of a two-door Civic Hybrid floats your boat, you won’t have to wait too long to set sail. And once you’re underway, you’ll find the Prelude has something to offer that you won’t yet see on other Hondas.
While rumors gave birth to brief hope that we might see a manual transmission in the Prelude, Honda has since shut that down; we’re not surprised, but we are a bit disappointed. However, Honda did announce today that the Prelude will be the first Honda delivered with a sporty new drive mode dubbed S+ Shift. Honda described it only as a feature that will enable the existing CVT to “deliver maximum levels of driver engagement.” Sounds an awful lot like fake gears to us, but hey, they’re not always completely terrible. We’re keeping an open mind.
As for what’s going to power it, well, Honda has been quite consistent on that front too. Honda’s 200-horsepower “two-motor” hybrid powertrain will sit under the hood. We’re fans of that powertrain here at The Drive, so we’re inclined to give this two-door variant a shot. If the Civic Hybrid does it with class, perhaps the Prelude will do it with pizzazz? I’m certainly not going to turn my nose up at anything targeted at enthusiasts these days. The pickings are slim. The folks at Honda seem to be stoked about getting the band back together too:
“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,” Honda VP Jessika Laudermilk said in the company’s announcement. “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.”
People tend to poke fun at Honda for showing “concept” or “prototype” vehicles that are essentially no different from the production models that follow. At this point, Honda has shown us the new Prelude several times. What do all the show cars have in common with the latest pics? Everything. Expect no surprises here, folks. This is what the Prelude will look like.
And with this announcement, we’re now in the final countdown to its debut. Can a 200-horsepower hybrid coupe with a mandatory automatic transmission capture the hearts and minds of enthusiasts in 2025? We’ll find out soon enough.
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