2026 New Honda Prelude Hybrid

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Honda Prelude Concept Unveiled
This super sleek concept car debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show last year to enthusiastic crowds. Honda is known for creating production cars that look very much like its concept vehicles and the new Prelude will likely follow this trend. Designed much like a grand touring sports car, the Prelude will be slightly longer than the Toyota GR86 sports car by two inches and will sit at 51.6 inches high. Expect a 2+2 seating arrangement first made popular by the Jaguar XKE.



Prelude History

The original Honda coupe with the Prelude moniker debuted in 1978 to go head-to-head against the popular Toyota Celica. It charged through five generations, finally bowing out of production in 2000. Known as a high-tech flagship for Honda, the sports coupe was hailed for its perfect driving dynamics and advanced performance. It was also the first Honda to come with a moonroof.

Shedding its boxy visage in exchange for a more sporty and curvy countenance with the fourth generation from 1992 to 1996, the Prelude included optional rear-wheel drive and, in America, a powerful 187 horsepower VTEC engine could blast from zero to 60 mph in around seven seconds.
The fifth and final generation of the original Prelude hit the highways in 1997 with a striking design and a 2.2-liter H22A4 four-cylinder motor that produced 195 horses and 156 pound-feet of torque. A new SH trim incorporated Honda's Active Torque Transfer System for active torque vectoring but by 2001, the popular Prelude ceased production, making way for the Accord coupe. Once the flagship model for Honda, sales of the Prelude fell after peaking at nearly 80,000 units in 1986, down to around 10,000 units a year in 2000.


A Prelude to an Electric Future

The word "prelude" essentially means "an introduction to something of importance that is yet to come." So, for Honda, bringing back an all-new Prelude coupe may be the automaker's introduction to an all-electric future. But for 2026, the Honda Prelude that is coming will start life sporting a fuel-efficient hybrid powertrain. 

Honda promises us a thrilling driving experience, utilizing drivetrain components from its CR-V, Accord, and Civic Hybrid Sport Touring models. In fact, the hybrid system in the Prelude may be similar to the one used in the 2025 Civic that uses a 204 horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with two electric motors (one acting as a generator and the other as a traction motor). Front wheel drive will be standard as in Preludes of the past, but rumor has it that there may be an all-wheel drive variant. The transmission will be a reliable CVT and we expect the package to get from zero to 60 miles per hour in a little over six seconds. All mileage is EPA Estimated.

While Honda has not yet released the MSRP for the new Prelude sports hybrid, we expect it to start around $31,000 and will hope to compete against the Toyota GR86 and the Mazda MX-5 Miata, while beating the price of the 2025 BMW Z4 by around 20 grand.