Same price as previous performance Honda - less fizz, but just as fun, brand boss vows.

PRICE announcement today for Honda’s next performance product, Prelude, shows it will sell for little more than its last, with which it shares DNA but not the same stonk.

End of month availability of the new rendition of a famous performance-themed nameplate that’s been absent for 25 years has been announced by Honda New Zealand.

Still a two coupe, but technically a world away from its forebears in being Honda’s first hybrid sports car, the new model avails in a single $69,990 grade with the only option being colour choice - with five hues offered.

That price puts it $990 above the 2023 launch price held by the now discontinued Civic Type R hatch, whose brakes and some suspension components are re-used.

However, Prelude is otherwise heading in a fresh engineering direction by going hybrid, with a 2.0-litre petrol engine paired with two electric motors.

Combined, the system delivers 135kW/315Nm – the same as it delivers in the Civic e:HEV from which the drivetrain was plucked - but still 100kW and 75Nm short of the Civic’s vivacious output.

Power is sent to the front wheels via an electronic continuously variable transmission (e-CVT).

That has a function which can simulate the engine noises and gear changes a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, complete with a power 'cut' when changing cogs.

Critics have noted that with a cited 0-100kmh time seven seconds, it is almost 1.5s slower than the last Prelude, itself not considered an overtly sporty car during its time of sale, but have also applauded the car’s dynamics.

Honda here is straight out spruiking the car’s aptitude, with managing director Carolyn McMahon saying it will stack up beyond the merits of being a head-turning car with an attractive price point.

In media comment shared today, she says the car has been carefully crafted to deliver a confidence- inducing and connected driving experience.

“We’re fortunate to experience some of the world’s best driving roads in New Zealand … Kiwis will have a car that promises an elevated connected and fun driving experience.

“The 2026 Prelude evokes the same character and emotions as its predecessors: combining a brave, daring and performance-led design, with a best-in-class hybrid engine, and attractive pricing. It’s the complete package.”

Honda senior management have conceded they did not set out to build another Prelude from the project’s inception.

Instead, after some development work, the brand decided to use the moniker because it fit that nameplate’s character.

Honda Motor Company director, president, and representative executive officer Toshihoro Mibe said the project was designed to bring another sporty model to market.

The release announcement seems to conform with proposal made a year ago by Honda NZ that our country would be among initial right hand drive export markets.

When launching the drivetrain-sharing Civic hatchback hybrid a year ago, McMahon’s predecessor, Nobuya Sonoda confirmed intent was to have the car on sale here in 2026.

This is the sixth generation Prelude and is very close to the concept car Honda showed off in 2024.

The major ingredient is the transmission. In setting out to mimic the sound and feel of a responsive multi-ratio automatic transmission, the S Plus Shift intends “enhance the driving experience” with shifts “coordinated with active sound control.”

Honda says the S Plus Shift name is inspired by older models including the S600, S2000 and Type S, representing the “joy of driving”.

Prelude originally launched in its first generation some 46 years, ago, but the last one went out of production at the end of 2001.