• The Honda Prelude will be a hybrid-powered coupe using the same two-motor setup as the Civic, Accord, and CR-V.
• This announcement comes at the 25 year anniversery of Honda’s first hybrid car, the Insight.
• It was initially unclear if the Prelude would be U.S.-bound or not, but Honda confirmed that it will be.

We don’t always talk about non-plug-in hybrids here at InsideEVs, but when it happens, it’s usually for a good reason. The Honda Prelude Concept was one of those “good reasons”. Last year, Honda surprised everyone at the Toyko Auto Salon (and again at the LA Auto Show) with a thinly-veiled hybrid coupe concept wearing a familiar name.

This year, Honda surprises us again, just in time for Christmas. Honda’s sporty coupe will be making a return for sure, by late next year—including to the U.S. market. Hallelujah. 

The Prelude will be more than just a Civic-based hybrid coupe, though. Honda says that this model will mark a new start of performance-oriented sport hybrid technology, through a feature called “S+ Shift”. We don’t know much about the explicit details, but Honda says it will “advance Linear Shift Control to deliver maximum levels of driver engagement, in keeping with the heritage of the Prelude line.”

From that description, I can’t help but think it could be a production version of Honda’s virtual shifting program I saw this past fall in Tokyo. Honda had it applied on a prototype Honda E, but it was open about its plans to port this gamified tech to other future models in its stable.

Like other Honda hybrids, the Prelude will use the same two-motor gas-electric hybrid system. In this design, a traditional automatic or manual transmission isn’t really possible. But, because the two-motor system has a lot of versatility in how it uses its large electric motors in lieu of a transmission, it should mean that a true PHEV isn’t necessarily out of the question. In many European markets, the CR-V Hybrid is available as a PHEV. Similarly, the Accord Hybrid is also PHEV in China. Could a Prelude PHEV be a simple jump away? Maybe.

Regardless, the Prelude comes at a historic time for Honda. Honda is celebrating the 25 year anniversary of its first hybrid car, the Insight. It also recognized that the Prelude was integral to Honda’s original 1970’s launch.

“The first three products in the Honda lineup in the 1970s were Civic, Accord and Prelude, and soon all three will be back together again in our passenger car lineup as hybrids,” said Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda Auto Sales. 

Photo by: Honda

Honda is still calling the Prelude a concept, but it did send over a few new images of the coupe pained up in a very appropriately festive red. Expect the production model to look pretty close to what we see here when it goes on sale next year. 

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