2026 Honda Prelude: Everything We Know About the New Hybrid Sport Coupe
Honda dips a toe into the electrified sports car market, resurrecting an old name.
The story was originally published on 11/30/2024 and updated with new photos and new information on its powertrain.
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Testing in Germany
Since the 2026 Honda Prelude will be first released in Europe, it’s no surprise to see it out and about under camouflage in Germany. From the looks of the images, that concept was truly close to production ready with very minor changes. It’s hard to spot the differences between the show car and this tester.
The brake calipers appear to be blue colored as they were from its original debut and the blue trim on the lower fascia appears to be removed on the mule car as the camouflage doesn’t cover the central structure between the lower bumper and aerodynamic work. The rear diffuser central blue trim is either removed or just covered up by camouflage. At the very least, it’s great to see it rolling around under its own power rather than just sit static during an autoshow.
No Stick Shift Confirmed
The spy photographer couldn’t tell us if they could hear an engine, but the 2026 Prelude is coming with the 2.0-liter hybrid I-4 from the 2025 Honda Civic Sport Hybrid. This also means that this modern coupe won’t gain a six-speed as we got confirmation from Honda during a recent event with the Japanese make. Not even a fake one like the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Sorry stickshift fans, it just ain’t happening. Fortunately, to make the coupe sporty, the Prelude will be engineered to shift differently. Notably, you will feel the downshifts. And you will hear them. But the truth is that it will use the same dual motor hybrid system that uses a larger motor to power the front-drive car as we see in the 2025 Civic Sport Hybrid.
What It Is
The first new Honda Prelude coupe since the nameplate was put down for a nap at the close of its fifth generation in 2001.
Why It Matters
Honda has been on a reincarnation lately. First, it brought the Passport SUV back from the dead as an off-road-inspired, two-row variant of the Pilot. Next, its Acura luxury division revived the Integra nameplate, while the motorcycle arm has been releasing slews of vintage-inspired bikes.
Now, it’s Honda cars’ turn for rebirth. More than 20 years after it was discontinued, the sporty Prelude is set to return as a hybridized coupe that bridges the gap between the Accord sedan and Civic coupes.
Platform and Powertrain
The Prelude, previewed here by a concept in name only, is a contemporary take on the classic Honda two-door, looking more like a variant of the previous-generation Civic Coupe than the successor to the originals. References to its predecessors are subtle. The unique nose-ring-like front end treatment pays homage to the fourth-generation (1992–96) Prelude, while the full-width taillights hark back to the second and third generations (1983–87 and 1988–91). Along its flanks, the window trim’s gentle skyward curve mimics a similar feature on both the first (1978–82) and fifth (1997–2001) Prelude generations.
Under the skin, expect the new Prelude to be pure modern Honda. Slightly smaller than the previous-generation Civic Coupe and roughly the same size as today’s Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86, the Prelude is likely all modern Civic underneath.
With Honda hinting heavily at “electrification,” we expect to find the Civic and Accord hybrids’ 2.0-liter I-4 and dual-motor combo under its hood, though we don’t anticipate much of a power boost beyond the system’s 204 hp and 232 lb-ft of peak torque output (as delivered in the Accord Hybrid). Like the Accord and Civic hybrids, the new Prelude will likely power its front wheels via the larger of its two electric motors, its engine functioning as a generator (via the smaller starter/generator unit). The end effect for the driver is an almost EV-like low-speed experience, with subtle background music from the muted gas engine, when it’s running at all. Will it get a manual transmission? The answer is … complicated.
Pricing for the reborn Prelude will probably be in line with sportier Civic variants rather than the Prelude’s historical perch atop the Honda lineup. (Adjusted for inflation, the previous-gen Prelude stickered for north of $50,000 when new.)
Estimated Price: $35,000
Expected On-Sale Date: 2025 or 2026
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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