One of the biggest surprises of the 2023 Japan Mobility Show was the reveal of the Honda Prelude concept. Not only that, the Japanese automaker confirmed its production then and there, and the concept car has been making rounds in some parts of the world.
It’s exciting news, indeed, and it won’t be too long before we see the road-going version. Honda recently gave two updates regarding the reborn, one being good and the other, well, not so good.
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We’ll start off with the good news first. It has been confirmed by Shinji Aoyama, the global executive vice president of Honda, that the reborn Prelude will use the company’s e:HEV hybrid system. It’s unlikely that it will be the 1.5-liter e:HEV arrangement as seen in the HR-V, Jazz, and City. Instead, we’re inclined to say that it will come with the 2.0-liter e:HEV setup.
Of course, Aoyama did not mention any power figures, but one can infer a baseline as it’s the same one used in the CR-V e:HEV, Civic e:HEV, and Accord e:HEV. Given its sporty nature, we could be seeing at least 200hp and 335Nm. We could expect more, of course, but we’re almost certain Honda will make sure it won’t trample on the toes of the Civic Type R.
So, we can expect a healthy and decently strong powertrain. What’s the bad news, then? Aoyama also confirmed that the revived Honda Prelude will only come as an automatic. An E-CVT, if we’re being exact about it. Aoyama did mention that they will make it feel more engaging and sportier than the calibration found in other e:HEV models.
It’s a tough ask to make a single-speed transmission feel sporty and dynamic. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Hyundai was able to pull it off quite convincingly with the Ioniq 5 N. Perhaps Honda can do something similar, but the only way we’ll know for sure is if we’ll be able to get our hands on it down the line.
