Surprise Honda Prelude Concept Looks Ready For Production

Well, this is a total surprise. Out of nowhere, Honda has just revealed a new Prelude Concept at the Japan Mobility Show. It doesn’t look far from production-ready, either…

Unlike the somewhat lukewarm return of the Integra, the Prelude is a bona fide two-door coupe. Don’t get too excited just yet though - it’s an EV, rather than hiding a K20C1 under the bonnet.

Details are pretty scarce, though Honda’s press release is keen to note the definition of prelude as “introductory or preceding performance”, and confirms it “will become the prelude for our future models which will inherit the joy of driving”. A strong suggestion then this new EV will sit at the bottom rung of Honda’s future sports cars (as it should).

We mean details are scarce, too. We can only speculate if the Prelude will be front-driven as those before, or sit on a rear-wheel-drive platform. If Honda is to borrow an existing EV’s groundwork, like the e:Ny1’s, expect the former but there’s the chance this could be completely new underpinnings too.

Honda has been without a Prelude in its line-up since 2001, with five generations of the coupe in its time in production. No word yet on when this sixth might be with us, but hopefully, soon.

If rumours are to be believed, this could be just the beginning of Honda’s electric sports cars. A replacement, battery-powered NSX has been touted for a while and reports of an all-electric S2000 successor have quietly simmered in recent years.

With a new electric Toyota MR2 showcased, a rotary range-extender MX-5 previewed and the 1,341bhp dual-motor Nissan Hyper Force giving us a taste of the R36 GT-R, this Japan Mobility Show could go down as one to remember for some time to come.