The Honda Prelude is beloved by enthusiasts, and the automaker may revive it as an EV.
Some truly iconic names have returned to the automotive fold over the past few years. Bronco, Defender, Integra, Supra and now…the Honda Prelude? It may well happen, according to recent rumors out of Japan (Best Car, specifically). In fact, the automaker is ramping up quite a few EV models over the coming years, and an NSX-style flagship sports car could roll out around the same time as the Prelude coupe. According to those same rumors, a new Honda Prelude could emerge around 2028.
Obviously, at this point the company is mum on which electric sports cars it plans to launch beyond the Prologue SUV and the Acura ZDX. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe did outline a plan for no fewer than 30 electric models by 2030, however. Not all those models will make it to North America, but that suggests a breadth of cars beyond your stereotypical (crossover) segments. “We are currently exploring the global introduction of two sports models, specialty and flagship models.”
Honda plans to launch more advanced electric car platforms in the back half of this decade. Specifically, those models will use solid-state battery technology promising far greater range and charging capability. The company is also working on two distinct platforms to cover both smaller compacts (like, say, the Prologue or a successor) and larger vehicles. It’s a move similar to that of other automakers moving toward EVs, including Stellantis.
Specialty cars, as Autoblog notes, points to sporty coupes like the former Toyota Celica, Mazda MX-6 or Nissan’s S platform coupes (the 240SX, for example). Mibe says these electric sports cars “will inherit the ‘joy of driving’ and embody Honda’s inalterable sports mindset and distinctive characteristics.”
Would you be excited for Honda’s supposed electric coupe?
Those are comforting words, perhaps, to those who fear a certain loss of character for electric cars in the future. Mind you, there’s still that rumored NSX successor, and that car could arrive to take on a next-generation R36 Nissan GT-R. Exactly what a new Honda Prelude will look like — if it happens at all, of course — is still anyone’s guess at this point.
Still, if the automaker can nail some of the traits that it captured with its old sports coupes, then it could definitely be an exciting time.
