Honda Prelude Hybrid Confirmed for Europe, Set to Debut at Goodwood

The Honda Prelude Concept will enter production as a sporty coupe hybrid, set to debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Honda has confirmed that the sporty Prelude Concept unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show (JMS) last year will go into production as the marque’s new sporty coupe hybrid. The new Prelude hybrid will also make its inaugural public debut at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed before going on sale on the Old Continent.

To go with this big news, Honda has released several images of the new Prelude hybrid alongside the original first-gen model, as well as several key Honda hybrids, as part of the marque’s 25th anniversary of its hybrid technology. Draped in red, the new Prelude hybrid looks very similar to its concept twin unveiled last year, with Honda declaring it the first Prelude model to get a semi-electrified powertrain setup.

Unfortunately, Honda didn’t go into the depths regarding the new Prelude’s semi-electrified powertrain setup. Initially mistaken to be a fully electric coupe, the new Prelude will likely get the same e:HEV series-parallel hybrid setup we’ve seen on both the Civic e:HEV RS and the CR-V e:HEV RS. In both applications, the e:HEV mill uses a 2.0-litre 4-cyl Atkinson cycle petrol mill that powers the two electric motors via a small battery pack.

Honda's 2.0-litre 4-cyl Atkinson cycle e:HEV hybrid powertrain (left) & 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbocharged K20C1 engine (right)

While this e:HEV setup turns out to be quite impressive (you can read our review on the Civic e:HEV RS here), we’d reckon many enthusiasts would rather see the new Prelude get the infamous 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbocharged K20C1 V-TEC engine—the same engine used on the current-gen Civic Type R (FL5). However, Honda officials did say that the new Prelude won’t be the zippiest or sportiest car in the marque’s lineup, with said titles usually reserved for the Type Rs.

Regardless of its performance or powertrain nature, the arrival of a new two-door sportscar by Honda in the day and age of SUVs and EVs is indeed very welcoming. According to Honda engineering boss Tomoyuki Yamagami, the new Prelude “not only marks the latest chapter in our ever-evolving hybrid story, it is also the product of 25 years of pioneering hybrid research and development.”

“In addition, the Prelude demonstrates the continued importance of hybrid powertrains as part of Honda’s automobile electrification strategy—a key step towards our commitment for 100 percent of new vehicle sales to be battery electric or hydrogen fuel cells by 2040,” the engineering boss added.

Honda only confirms that the new Prelude hybrid will go on sale in the European market, with the car set to make its debut at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed.While there’s still no news of whether this sporty hybrid coupe will make its way to other international markets like ours, we’d say the new Prelude will surely be a big hit amongst sportscar enthusiasts and JDM fans in our market.