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2019 Honda Prelude Release Date Price Concept Specs

2019 Honda Prelude Release Date

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The Prelude was a 2-door sports coupe sold by Honda between 1978 and all the way until 2001. Unfortunately Honda ceased production in 2001 and since then they didn’t really seem to be interested in a successor. However, there are now rumors out there suggesting that a 2019 Honda Prelude is possible. It seems that this car would be part of Honda’s Acura division in the US and it will still be sold as a Honda in the rest of the world. The car is set to become their 3rd true sports car after the NSX and the upcoming ZSX.

Details

Even though at this point there is still very little information, it seems the new Prelude might still be a front wheel drive car. All of its predecessors used this layout and it may still hold true for the new car. While this would make sense as it would provide continuity, we do expect Honda to offer the car with all wheel drive. This would give them an edge over some of their rivals and it would allow the Prelude to trump its rivals.The car will most likely be based on Honda’s newest modular architecture and it is safe to assume it will also use their latest engines.

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Exterior design

The original was based on the Accord but had a completely different look. The upcoming 2019 Honda Prelude is expected to maintain its unique look over the Accord. In fact it looks like most people think the car is going to share some design cues with the more expensive NSX. This would actually make quite a bit of sense considering how Honda is currently struggling to come up with a sportier appearance for their cars. Expect it to boast slim headlights, a really angular design and a profile lower than the usual coupe. The car might also have its cabin pushed towards the back which would create a shooting-brake style. This would likely be quite appreciated as there are no real competitors when it comes to this type of design.

Interior

Here the car is more than likely going to have a very similar cabin to the Accord. Expect the 2 to share roughly the same dashboard design and set of features. However, the Prelude will likely boast slightly more impressive materials and a different seating layout. The car is expected to come with 4 individual seats with those in the middle getting a center console. This should boast things like AC vents, USB chargers as well as cup-holders.

New Honda Accord interior design

2019 Honda Prelude engine and specs

The long hood rumored for a while would allow the 2019 Honda Prelude to have a front mid-mounted engine. This would be positioned behind the front axle which would give the car a perfect weight distribution. The engine is likely going to be one of Honda’s new turbocharged power plants. Some suggested the base model will come with a 1.5 liter turbo-4 good for around 200 horsepower. A larger 2.0 liter turbo-4 with up to 300 horsepower is also a real possibility. Both these engines are expected to be mated to a 6 speed manual in the base configuration and only to the front wheels. An all wheel drive model is also very likely. In fact we believe Honda will offer the all wheel drive in order to allow the Prelude to succeed in a rather crowded market. This will likely be offered only with the cars equipped with an automatic which will likely be their new 10 speed gearbox that proved to be 1 of the fastest and more responsive automatic in its class.

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Release date and price

The release date is still unknown but at least a concept is expected by the end of 2018. Speaking about the price, it is too early to speak about it, but as soon as we find out we will inform you.

NBP04TL4ME

Should be interesting..............

TacoBello

Sounds kind of lame... but this article really just sounds like a lot of unconfirmed mumbo jumbo someone could randomly piece together.

I've heard recently that the Accord coupe was axed because of the plan to bring the Prelude back. To me, that's good news.

Buuuuuuuuuut... they axed the Accord coupe for a reason. It wasn't selling in great numbers anymore, like it once did. People these days generally don't want a coupe. And if they do, they want it to be an actual sports coupe, which the Accord coupe really wasn't. It was just a two door version of an appliance vehicle (not that there is anything wrong with that- I had one for a bit, years ago, and loved it- but overall, the market is moving away from such cars).

So a near 200hp (I4), or 300hp (V6), FWD, coupe wasn't selling, but a new, near 200hp (1.5T), or near 300hp (2.0T), FWD, coupe will? If that is Honda's argument, they need to get back to the drawing board before this thing fails and Honda announces yet again they don't want to build sporty cars anymore because people aren't buying.

fsttyms1

Honda needs to design and build a RWD platform that can be used/modified to be used in 2 and 4 door layout that they can share with Acura to have a dedicated RWD platform to build such vehicles as a s2k type of car for honda or a 2/4 door coupe/sedan for acura that is RWD, at least in base form and a version of SHAWD in higher trim

TacoBello

Well... in the 2018 Accord press release, there was a line in which they said the car now has 'RWD proportions". If that is truly the case, maybe it has RWD proportions to be able to accommodate a RWD coupe. As mentioned, the Prelude will still be based on the Accord.

I agree with what you say, Fatty, except for the part where you throw in the s2k type of car... that should be built on a platform all of it's own... anything else would be too big and require a ton of downsizing, all over.

Sarlacc

ugh. If you can't make the design look an evolvement of the 5th gen...then don't bother.

Sarlacc

also...automatic prelude = FAIL

kurtatx

If it gets the Honda DCT, it's the best we can hope for. Manuals are essentially dead.

Sarlacc

if honda does release a new lude and they fuck it up...they are completely dead to me

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I think it would be nice if it's RWD. But even if it's FWD with AWD as an option, thats still nice. The key thing is probably the styling. The Accord coupe is a coupe, but it still looks too much like an Accord...because it's still an Accord after all.

If they are able to have this front-mid mount configuration with a lower, wider, sportier body style, may be it isn't so bad?

F-C

I would love a new Prelude, but we hear this rumor every few years....

AZuser

But Honda heard the enthusiasts and they're going to keep the manuals around.

If anything, cars like the Prelude and S2K are for enthusiasts. Not having a manual option for them = fail

2018 Honda Accord World Debut - Remarks by Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President, Automobile Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. - Honda News

MSZ

Look at the new Accord, the location of the A pillar is indeed very RWD-like. But they decided to move the shutline under the A pillar forward, pushing it much closer to the front axle to create a very weird look. I think if the new Prelude is based on this modular platform, we will see the classic long hood proportion back. Same thing for the next TLX too.

But like Taco said, good design or not I doubt there is a market for the new Prelude. Toyobaru are having troubles getting rid of the excessive Hachiroku/BRZ stock for years now.

AZuser

5 yrs with no major redesign/updates... not surprising.

Average U.S. sales of 11,600 (FR-S) and (6,400) BR-Z over the past 5 yrs isn't too bad I suppose. Honda might be happy with sales numbers somewhere in-between those. Would be about the same as the average number of S2K sales (7,800 average during 1st 5 years). The 5th gen Prelude sold 58,118 units from 1997-2001 (average of 11,623 over 5 yrs).

If Honda does things right, they could see strong sales during the first 1-2 years from nostalgic buyers and people who were too young and poor back then to buy one but now have the money to do so.

kurtatx

People keep buying Miatas, right? Honda could tap that market with a two seater.

00TL-P3.2

True, but you'd have to price it competitively with the Miata. IIRC, the S2k was always pricier than the Miata?

MSZ

Actually Mazda was going to kill this Miata before FCA decided to pay half of the development money for it. Also worth mentioning that the Fiat 124 was originally designed for Alfa Romeo.

The coupe market is nearly non existent these days, that's why BMW had to team up with Toyota to lower the costs for the Z5/Supra project.

SamDoe1

These are the people currently driving up the value/price of the old S2000.

In any case, I don't think there's a big market for these cars right now. Even the MB SLK (SLC? whatever they call it these days) is an incredibly slow selling model. They sold less than 4k units last year. BMW killed the Z4 because no one bought it and those are the two big competitors.

The MX5 sells more but is a lot cheaper, slower, less powerful, and less featured than the higher end models...which is where the S2k would need to be just as the old one was.

00TL-P3.2

RE: Bolded bit. And it came as a Fiat, because all Alfas must be built in Italy, and the 124 is built in Hiroshima.

Legend2TL

The small coupe market is pretty small.

Case in point the S2000, total production ~110k over 11 years.
I'm guessing the total NRE design and development costs were ~$500M which would put it ~$4.5k per vehicle not including facility, labor and material costs to build it as well as profit and RONA/RONI.
That's why a S2000 costs about the same as a 2G Odyssey despite having far less content when it came out.
Always admired the S2000 engineering/marketing/manufacturing approach for not doing parts bin engineering on the chassis/drivetrain, and no compromises for luggage and other amenities.
None the less the S2000 team did their research better than the 1G NSX team, the overall S2000 program made money for Honda despite internal skeptics on both sides of the ocean.

Looking at the current BRZ/FRS sales numbers and I can see why auto manufacturers aren't exactly jumping at the gate to make new sporty coupes.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, I'm thinking the new Prelude would be more of a Hyundai Genesis than a BRZ? I have a feeling the Prelude is going to be bigger and more comfort oriented than a BRZ. lol, I don't know...but I guess it's possible both ways.

TacoBello

I'm thinking more or less on par with a 370z

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Or that, yaaa

SamDoe1

If they finally gave the BRZ the engine it deserves, they'd sell a lot more. People don't want low power and handling, they want stop light drag racers that come with tons of power and a turbo slapped on for good measure.

This is why Dodge sold a ton of Hellcats/SRTs/Scat Packs and Subaru can't convince many people to buy a BRZ.

biker

What's a ton?

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

The American car companies don't have much trouble selling muscle cars like the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, etc:

June 2017 Sales
Challenger 6,605 +24%
Mustang 6,186 -36.7%
Camaro 4,691 -5.6%
Miata 1,046 +17.7%
86 635 -7.7%
Spider 510
BRZ 429 +23.6%
370z 405 -31.7%

The 2-door coupe market is not doing so well outside of those American cars.

TacoBello

Well the 86, BRZ and 370z are old as fuck. No wonder.

Legend2TL

Few reasons
1) Alot of the smaller ones are only two seaters (370z, Miata,.) or have unusable backseats.
2) The American cars are good value for what you get.
3) Americans love American muscle cars

SamDoe1

From a quick Google search...

That's about a 20% take rate on the Challenger Hellcat vs any other trim level.

SamDoe1

#2 is the reason for #3. The Camaro and Mustang have fairly unusable backseats too. The Challenger is a lot bigger and has a decent seat though.

There isn't anything else on that list that comes close to the value for money. For the $30k price of a 200hp BRZ I can get a 310hp turbo Mustang, toss in a tune and have a 400hp sports car. Which would you do?

Sarlacc

fixed

Chief F1 Fan

I had a 2001 Honda Prelude-I absolutely loved that car. As someone else said, I hope Honda gets the spiritual lineage of this car down right if they do indeed build it. Maybe some of the NSX tech can rub off on a high-end version of the car to get true sports car owners to be swayed. Like me.

TacoBello

Um yeah, if you want to go fast in a straight line, go ahead. Yes the mustang and Camaro are infinitely better in terms of handling then they once were, but they're still heavy and big fucking cars.

Not every American wants an American muscle car. That's just a huge generalization.

Again, the reason the 86, BRZ and 370 are selling poorly is because everyone of them is at the end of their life cycle. The 370 is 8 fucking years old. The others are hitting 5 years. Show me one moderateley priced car that sells great at that age.

Overall, miata sales were up 17%. But ita fairly new still. It appears it doesn't sell anywhere near the numbers the American cars do, but has it ever? And if you want to drive the same car everyone else does, yeah, there's American muscle. Seriously, I can't throw a stone in any direction without hitting a half dozen mustangs.

Costco

I think everyone needs to temper their expectations. Anyone thinking it will be a high revving coupe will be quite disappointed, just like some were with the new NSX.

It would be interesting if Honda continues their use of the Prelude as a testbed of sorts. Like how IIRC some years had closed deck blocks, while all their other 4 cyls were open deck at the time. And Super Handling, rear wheel steering and all.

I personally don't think a rev happy 4 cyl will sell well in the market anyway. Torque is more easily recognized, and the enthusiast market is a small niche. While I would like it, most won't care.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

370z = about 3500lbs
Camaro SS 1LE = about 3700lbs

DJ Iceman

Before I bought my 1998 Acura 3.0CL, the car I really wanted was a Prelude Type-SH. I literally could not find a dealer who was even willing to order the car for me, at MSRP, with a deposit. They all wanted to sell me an Accord coupe, which they had hundreds of already on the lots. In hindsight, I'm guessing Honda was putting a lot of pressure on them (or offering significant financial incentives) to move Accords, with no such corporate push for the Prelude. I did have a few dealers trying to push me into discounted base-model Preludes they had sitting around, but I knew I wanted the SH. After getting the runaround from about a dozen dealers, I went to the local Acura place and had the most pleasant car-buying experience I've ever had, getting that CL (and it turned out to be a great car for me for many years).

DJ Iceman

I'll be disappointed if it's not. The whole reason for the name "Prelude" is that it was their testbed for new technologies that were road-ready, but not across-the-whole-lineup ready.

2snail

my first car was a 1997 prelude base 5-speed. Being my first car, it holds a special place.

I learned how to drive manual on this car
Got into autocrossing and enjoyed 5 seasons of it.
Modded it, and in general learned through DIY how to do basic automotive work,


If this new prelude turns out to be a good driver oriented car I would seriously consider getting one to keep the prelude ownership going into the next phase lol.


I have my eye on used lotus elise sc or exiges at the moment, lets see in the next year or so.

Costco

Yeah I had a new Mustang rental recently. It was a decent car, sporty in spite of its size and typical rental package configuration. But I can't imagine driving a car that huge anymore.

TacoBello

this is what happens when stupid people post. my nismo is the heaviest 370, and it comes in at 3350. Other trims are 100 pounds lighter. The 1LE comes in at 3750. That's at least 400 pounds more. And it's much more than just curb weight. But thanks for playing.