Prelude SiR S-Spec Brings Sunshine to the English Countryside
Draped in Phoenix Yellow and rolling on white wheels, this special Prelude comes with tons of JDM flavor.
The fifth-gen Prelude was the swan song for the classic sports compact, bringing back the boxier styling of the third-gen model for one final go through the late Nineties into the early 2000s. And of course, its home market, Japan, got all the best versions, including the SiR S-Spec with hits 217-horsepower take on the 2.2-liter H22A VTEC inline-four.
England never saw this particular Prelude new at home, but YouTuber Adam Ivell knows of one brightening up the countryside now, one owned by his friend, Nitin Suriacant.
“The Preludes have a lot of different models to them, and I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know a huge amount about these as Hondas,” says Ivell of the SiR S-Spec. “I love Hondas, as people know, but these have been one that I wouldn’t say I’ve ignored, but I’ve just not really had that much time around.”
Suriacant adds that his Prelude is such a rarity in the United Kingdom that he’s had a hard time finding parts for his Phoenix Yellow beauty, like the OEM body kit with the super-cool hood spoiler designed to vent air around the A-pillar, and the mid-rise rear wing on offered on the S-Spec.
“Now, there’s one thing that people might have noticed, that we haven’t said just yet, but it’s bright yellow,” Ivell said. “It’s Phoenix Yellow. This is the OEM Honda color called Phoenix Yellow that never came on the Prelude.”
Suriacant says he was close to painting his Prelude Nighthawk Black again, but upon sighting an Integra DC2 in the color with matching seats and white wheels, he decided to go for it.
The inside of the Prelude echos the Civic Type R, according to Ivell, with the amount of red all over the front JDM Recaro seats and carpeting. Meanwhile, the gauges echo that of another car, the NSX. Suriacant adds that the yellow needles on the gauges were only found on cars like the Integra DC2 and Prelude Type-S. And of course, there’s an excellent view of the hood spoiler from the steering wheel, as well.
“It’s like 11, 10 years now I’ve had Preludes,” said Suriacant. “[I started] with a UK-spec one, a Motegi one, basically. Started building that. Back in the day, I didn’t realize [there was this] Japanese stuff back in Iran… I was thinking, ‘Oh wow! This Japanese one’s got power-folding mirrors and digital climate control.’ Then, I got rid of the Motegi one and got a Japanese one, slowly built that up. Someone rear-ended that.”
Suriacant’s plans for his current Prelude include a supercharger for the H22A, and a set of new wheels that will likely fit better than the ones he has now, as noted by the barking scrapes from the rears hitting the wheel arches at certain points during the drive.
This Prelude is one amazing ride. It makes us happy to see this yellow bit of sunshine brighten up the gray English countryside, especially when VTEC kicks in.
Join the Honda-tech forums today!
