New Honda Prelude: Concept car previews new hybrid coupe

The Honda Prelude name is coming back to the UK in the form of a new sports coupe, previewed in these pictures in concept-car form.

The production version of the new Prelude will mark the return to Europe of the name almost a quarter of a century after it was phased out in 2001. While no official release date has been announced, you can expect the first Preludes to hit the roads within a couple of years.

An in-the-metal preview of the new Honda Prelude Concept will take place at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, as part of Honda’s celebration of 25 years of its hybrid systems. And yes, the new Prelude will be powered by a hybrid drivetrain rather than a pure-electric one.

The promise of a new front-wheel-drive coupe goes against the prevailing trend – there are currently no such new cars on sale following the cessation of cars like the Audi TT and Volkswagen Scirocco.

New Honda Prelude: price and release date

These are very early days for the return of the Honda Prelude badge – we can expect to see the production version of the Prelude appear at some point in the next two years or so, but there’s been no indication of price yet.

New Honda Prelude: interior and exterior

We don’t officially know much about the new Honda Prelude yet, save for the images you see here. But it's likely to share the same mechanical underpinnings as the Honda Civic, which gives you a rough idea of size.

The concept looks relatively production ready compared to the outlandish adornments you see on some concept cars, so features like the low bonnet, grille-integrated headlights and full-width tail lights could all remain. The concept car rides on 20-inch alloy wheels.

No photos of the interior have yet been released but it, too, is likely to take inspiration from the latest Civic, including its infotainment system and digital driver display.

New Honda Prelude: engines and gearboxes

All we know about the new Honda Prelude is that it’ll have a hybrid powertrain. Again we look to the latest Civic for inspiration, which uses a 2.0-litre petrol engine with two electric motors, making 184PS. A variation of this seems likely for the Prelude.