If you’re wondering how the revived Honda Prelude is going to differentiate itself from the other Civic-based offerings, here’s your answer: it will be the only Honda besides the Civic Type R to utilize the company’s dual-axis front suspension, incorporating the performance variant’s wider track and its front Brembo brakes to boot. But instead of the Type R’s boisterous, turbocharged engine, it’ll be motivated by the powertrain found under the hood of the Civic Hybrid.
So, it’s a Type R chassis with Civic Hybrid power. Taken independently, both of those are very good things—two of our favorites, in fact, as we consistently rank the Type R and Hybrid at or near the top of their respective niches. Put together, they’ll form a segment of one. While there are others in the marketplace pushing hybrid engines as performance upgrades, it’s not exactly a strategy that has been universally embraced by automakers.
If you’re a purist, you can remain comforted by the fact that the new car inherits its namesake’s two-door, front-wheel-drive layout. Sadly, the manual transmission offered in previous generations won’t reprise its role, helping to secure the CR-Z’s legacy as the last sporty hybrid from Honda to be sold with a stickshift.
Even “sporty” is doing some heavy lifting here; by Honda’s admission, the Prelude is aiming for something a bit more grand-toury:
“The award-winning hybrid system will be paired for the first time with the innovative new Honda S+ Shift system, an innovative new drive mode that further advances Linear Shift Control to enhance Prelude’s sporty yet comfortable GT experience,” Honda said in its announcement.
What does that mean, exactly? We’re betting on simulated gears for the hybrid’s unique gearbox. We’ll have to wait a few more months to find out for certain, though; the Prelude is due before the end of 2025.
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