Honda has confirmed it’ll be bringing back the Prelude coupe for model year 2026, but it won’t come with a manual transmission.
Motor Trend reports Honda’s global officer in charge of electrification, Shinji Aoyama, has confirmed the new Prelude will be offered only with a revised version of the automatic transmission found in the Civic.
That’s despite Honda having previously offered a hybrid with a manual transmission before in the CR-Z coupe.
The new Prelude will reportedly enter production in 2025.
It’s still expected the Prelude will be fitted with Honda’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and dual-motor hybrid system, with drive sent to the front wheels.
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That powertrain will likely be similar to what’s in the Honda Civic e:HEV, which features a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and two electric motors.
Honda’s dual-mode hybrid system sees one electric motor serve as a generator motor, supplying energy to the other (propulsion) motor and recharging the battery under some conditions.
The propulsion motor drives the wheels directly, while also converting the kinetic energy generated under braking into electrical energy to recharge the battery.
While it’ll share similarities with the Civic, Motor Trend reports the new Prelude’s transmission will be engineered to “shift differently”, namely with downshifts that can be felt and heard by those inside the car.
The 2.0-litre engine is expected to be capable of 150kW, matching the 152kW/335Nm unit found in the Honda Accord e:HEV. For context, the Civic’s hybrid powertrain produces up to 135kW of power and 315Nm of torque.
Though it has confirmed the Prelude won’t offer a manual, Honda has reportedly developed a simulated manual transmission that could be used for future electric vehicles (EVs), though there has been no word on whether it’ll be put into production.
The last Prelude, which was sold with both five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions, exited production in 2001.
Fifth (and final) generation Honda Prelude
The new Prelude was revealed at last year’s Japan Mobility Show.
In July this year, the Japanese brand announced the Prelude would enter production in time for a 2026 launch.
An Australian launch is as yet unconfirmed, however Honda’s trademark application to retain the Prelude name was filed last year and subsequently approved earlier this year.
Like its predecessors, it’s understood the new Prelude will be a four-seater.
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