Honda Just Shut Down Dreams of a Prelude Type R

Sorry Folks, It’s Not Happening

After months of rumors of a Type R-powered Prelude started swirling around, Honda finally has a semi-official answer. Unfortunately, it’s not the one some folks wanted, much like the odds of the coupe ever getting a manual transmission option. Hint: it’s zero.

Don’t get your hopes up with a hardcore version of Honda’s first Prelude after 24 years. While the disappointment is understandable, given that the coupe is based on the Civic, the car’s chief engineer, Tomoyuki Yamagami, told Australian publication Drive that equipping it with a Type R powertrain wouldn’t suit its demeanor.

“This Prelude is really quite different from the Type R in power and performance – it doesn’t stick to the values and performance [of Type R]. The [goal was to] integrate the feeling of people and machinery in this new Prelude – it has a different direction from the existing Type R,” explained Yamagami.

Preludes Were Never All-Out Sports Cars

While the idea of a hot coupe from Honda would be great, the Prelude might not be the right way to do it. Looking back at the model’s history, it never received track-oriented versions, unlike the Civic, Integra, and NSX. One could say that the Prelude’s purpose is to be a cut above the Accord Coupe, while serving as a technical showcase with a sporting edge.

Think of the Prelude then as more of a junior grand tourer. It still drove well and rode well, but one can say it’s heaps more daily-friendly compared to something with a Type R badge. It doesn’t have much of a boy-racer image that, perhaps ironically, worked against it in enthusiast circles. Compared to, say, a Civic Si from the ’90s, a Prelude from the same era would’ve been heaps more sophisticated, but the Prelude can only dream of the Civic Si’s “gotta have it” factor.

Still, the Prelude has a strong cult following. Just ask the heaps of Japanese Gen-Xers who’ve lined up for the new one.

More Type S Than Type R

So, it isn’t overtly sporty, but that does mean that the Prelude is more suited to the Type S treatment than Type R. Drive did ask if that was possible, and Yamagami hinted that something like an SiR from the Japanese market fifth-gen model could be done. The JDM Prelude SiR was a punchier version of the American Type SH with even more handling improvements.

Should Honda give the new Prelude a little more grunt and enhance its driving characteristics even more, we probably won’t mind it not taking the track-focused Type R route and follow the Type S philosophy instead. Besides, a modern-day Type SH sounds like a nice idea.

About the author

News Editor

Anton Andres is a Philippine motoring journalist and former racing instructor with over a decade of experience, specializing in features and automotive history for publications like Top Gear Philippines and Autoindustriya.com. A multiple Henry Ford Awards nominee, he’s known for his passion for ’90s European cars and expertise in Asian automotive industry trends.