Making the Case for a Prelude Revival
Honda’s lack of a mid-size coupe probably makes Honda accountants happy, but it makes us long for a Prelude once more.
In terms of popularity, Honda‘s S2000 is arguably one of the company’s most popular coupes ever made. In our opinion, the Prelude is not far behind. The Prelude hit our shores in 1979 and immediately made an impact. With a special chassis, it was far more than just a 2-door Accord. The Prelude’s modest numbers at the beginning of production would soon turn into a car that would continually showcase Honda’s most advanced technology of the time.
EVO Magazine recently took a retrospective look back at UK-spec Preludes throughout their five-generation run. Those may not have shared the same engines but did share a lot of significant chassis and technology developments. Honda’s first and second-generation ‘Lude, to EVO, was a styling exercise done right. It was the third generation where Honda’s 2+2 really entered its stride.
Produced from 1987 through 1991, the third generation Prelude established this car as a showcase for Honda’s best and greatest tech. Technologies like 4-wheel-steering, and free-revving B20/B21 series engines solidified the car’s performance potential. Styling brings us back to a more reserved time for Japanese cars. Simple, angular, and handsome lines make this truly a low hood-line and low belt-line coupe.
Honda’s fourth-generation Prelude departed from that reserved styling. But technology was still packed into this car’s chassis. The H22A1 engine introduced high-revving VTEC, and with an output of 197 horsepower, solidified the Prelude as a performance car.
The last-generation Prelude really set the bar for Honda. Available as “base” or “SH” models, the Prelude SH, or “SuperHandling,” was the designation for Honda’s ATTS system. Active Torque Transfer System sent power to the outside wheel on the Prelude via a set of planetary gears. This is unlike some torque vectoring systems which drag a brake on the inside wheel.
MotorTrend‘s review of the car back in 1996 described it succinctly:
“The ATTS-equipped Prelude Type SH has remarkably-and usefully-less power-on understeer and drop-throttle oversteer than a standard ’97 Prelude, and radically less of both than the ’96 Prelude VTEC, which we thought was a darn good handling car. Until now.”
A handling system like ATTS was remarkable tech back in the mid-90s, and we haven’t seen that reflected on a flagship Honda in a while. We understand the Civic Type R is a technological feat on its own, and it’s remarkably fast. But the Prelude brought exotic technology within reach of the average Honda buyer. Sure, Honda had the Accord coupe live on after the Prelude was dropped, but it wasn’t a technical dour-de-force.
Photos: EVO Magazine
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