The Honda Prelude returns to the brand's catalogue in Europe as a sporty hybrid, and it already has a price!

The Prelude is one of those cars that, without making much noise, became an icon of Honda thanks to the fact that since 1978, the year the first generation was launched, it has represented the Japanese brand’s innovative and cutting-edge engineering. Now, after 25 years of absence, the Honda Prelude returns to the European catalogue of the brand, and it does so following the same principles, all under its sporty character and coupé design.

Honda has been slowly cooking up the international rollout of the new Prelude, and it was in 2023 that the Japanese brand unveiled it at the Tokyo Motor Show, subsequently releasing important details about what we could expect, the last ones practically wrapping up in 2024. But the wait is over: the Honda Prelude has officially arrived on European soil, so much so that we even know its price already.

But first, let’s take a look at what the new Honda Prelude has in store. As could not be otherwise, this sixth generation will keep its coupé silhouette, with a low, sharp front nose that will look at us defiantly, partly thanks to the LED headlights with a distinctive light signature, and joined by the narrow chrome-black front grille. A little lower down, the bumper with flowing lines reveals a lower air intake that denotes its sporty character and blends perfectly with the slightly widened front wheel arches.

Moving to the side, we see how its lines flow harmoniously towards the rear, while also showing us its especially low roofline of just 1,355 mm from the ground. Here we will also see that Honda has used solutions from the Civic, such as the door-mounted mirrors placed below the waistline. On the roof, a “double bubble” panel has been fitted as a nod to classic high-performance cars, integrating seamlessly with the tailgate and ending in a rear dominated by the LED light unit that spans its full width.

The Prelude will come as standard with 19-inch alloy wheels in a multi-spoke design, behind which hide blue brake calipers finished with the Prelude and Brembo logos. Future owners will be able to choose from the four exterior colours: Moonlit White Pearl, Meteoroid Grey Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl and Racing Blue Pearl.

Opening its doors, we step into an interior with an undeniable Honda design, with the dashboard positioned low to improve visibility and built around very pronounced, contrasting lines. Although it moves towards today’s minimalist design, there are a number of buttons and controls for managing all the basic functions. Of course, screens were not going to be missing: a digital one, 10.2-inch in size for an instrument cluster that provides all the necessary information to the driver, and a 9-inch one for the infotainment system.

Honda will offer the Prelude in Spain in a single trim level called Advance, so as you can imagine it comes well equipped, as we will see below with many of the elements it includes:

• 19-inch alloy wheels
• LED front and rear headlights
• Light sensor and automatic adjustment
• Active cornering lights
• Adaptive high beams
• Body-coloured mirrors
• Tinted glass
• Dashboard, door panels and centre console in black faux leather
• Dashboard, door panels and centre console in white synthetic leather with cloud-like texture
• Stainless steel sports pedals
• Leather steering wheel
• Front seats upholstered in leather / faux leather and rear seats in fabric
• Two-tone double stitching on seats and dashboard
• Automatic dual-zone climate control
• Photochromic rear-view mirror
• Rain sensor
• Aspherical, heated exterior mirrors with electric adjustment and folding
• Front centre armrest
• Front seats with lumbar adjustment
• Heated front seats
• Honda CONNECT with 9-inch touchscreen navigation
• Instrument cluster with 10.2-inch screen
• Bose audio with 8 speakers
• 2 front USB Type-C ports
• Wireless charger
• Bluetooth
• Adaptive dampers
• Driving mode selector (COMFORT / GT / SPORT)
• S+Shift: Sport+ mode with paddle shifters
• Electric parking brake
• Steering wheel paddle shifters
• Smart Entry
• Adaptive cruise control
• Rear-view camera with parking function and guide lines
• Brake assist
• Blind spot information system with cross-traffic alert
• Autonomous emergency braking system with collision mitigation
• Accelerator control with collision mitigation
• Tyre pressure loss warning system
• Forward collision warning
• Adjustable speed limiter
• Intelligent speed limiter
• Unintentional lane change/departure warning
• Lane keeping/lane centring assist system
• Low-speed follow function
• Road departure mitigation system
• Traffic jam assist
• Traffic sign recognition system

Mechanically, the new Honda Prelude uses the latest generation of the e:HEV hybrid system from Honda, combining a 2,000 cc petrol engine with a lightweight automatic transmission with dual electric motors and the Honda S+ Shift system. All of this delivers a power output of 184 CV and a torque of 315 Nm, allowing it to reach 100 km/h in 8.2 seconds. We must not forget that this hybrid system also includes a high-power 72-cell lithium-ion battery.

If you want to get your hands on the new Honda Prelude, you’re in luck, because the brand is already accepting orders at its Spanish dealerships at a starting price of 49,500 euros. The first owners will receive their Preludes from February 2026 onwards.