The automaker says it’ll be in Canadian showrooms by year’s end, and looking at this concept, we don’t doubt it—so where are the specs?
- Honda’s 2026 Prelude Concept showed up at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon—and it looks production-ready
- The automaker’s said it’ll land in Canadian dealerships some time this year, so where are the specs?
- All we know concretely is it’s a hybrid, and that there’s a new Honda S+ Shift mode
But given that the Accord Hybrid makes just 204 horsepower, we hope the company finds a way to spice things up so that the Prelude can back up its good looks with actual performance. Putting on our guessing hats, we think the Prelude will have a FWD base trim; and an optional, more powerful AWD trim as well.
Sadly, a hybrid powertrain almost surely rules out the possibility of a manual transmission, which is a shame because the big-H brand makes some of the best shifters in the business. But don’t feel blue! Honda says the Prelude will be available with a new drive mode called Honda S+ Shift, which it says “further advances Linear Shift Control to deliver maximum levels of driver engagement.” We remain unconvinced.
In person, the Accord cuts an attractive silhouette. It does come with a cabin that generally looks like it’s mounted too far forward. The hood is short and stubby, the dash to axle ratio is poor for a sports coupe, and the fastback roof is noticeably long. Clearly, this is a constraint of building a sports coupe on a sedan chassis and being forced to use the same front end and cowl for both.