HONDA Prelude

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HONDA Prelude
HONDA Prelude   1996 2000
1996 2000

It was the Prelude’s last generation and not the most successful in its nameplate for the Honda carmaker.
From time to time, a carmaker decides to pull the plug for a specific model in its lineup and doesn’t replace it with anything else. It was the same situation with the sporty coupe Prelude, built on the same platform as the fourth generation of the Honda Accord.

Low, long, and flat, the fifth and last generation of the Prelude didn’t share the same successful design as its predecessor, but it indeed had some other features that deserved more customers. Its squared and swept-back headlights over the hood didn’t look like anything else on the market. The horizontal taillights with straight lines and thin reversing lights were unmistakable in the Honda lineup in the back.

Inside, there was room enough for two passengers at the front with high-bolstered bucket seats. In the rear, the carmaker installed a bench big enough to fit a child’s seat and a pair of shoes, but barely enough to fit an average size adult due to the minimal legroom and limited headroom. Honda focused on the driver’s area and offered the best it had in its store. A speed-variable steering wheel, all the buttons and switches close to its fingers, and a great all-around visibility thanks to the thin A-pillars and wide side windows. The trunk was good enough for two medium-sized suitcases.

The technology was at its peak with the new, 2.2-liter V-TEC engine that offered up to 200 hp. It wasn’t available on all the markets, so the Europeans got only 185 hp. The all-wheel steering and the four-speed sequential automatic gearbox were another two improvements that made the Prelude a great sports coupe for the masses.

Full Description and Technical Specifications
HONDA Prelude
HONDA Prelude   1992 1996
1992 1996

Honda introduced the fourth generation of the Prelude in 1991 in Japan and the following year on other markets worldwide.
Even though Honda produced the Prelude for only five years, the car was a stiff competitor for other coupe vehicles on the market. The carmaker built it on the same platform as the Accord’s fourth generation, but it added the famous VTEC engines.

From the outside, it was a significant departure from its predecessor. For starters, it quit the pop-up headlights and installed slim, wide horizontal lamps at the front, with a nose between them that resembled a Formula 1 race-car. Its cab-rearward design with a very raked windshield and short roof made the car look like a rear-wheel-drive coupe, even though it was a front-wheel-drive vehicle. In the back, the sloped windscreen and the tall trunk lid completed the car’s sporty image.

Honda installed a unique interior for the Prelude. The dashboard featured two distinct areas: a vertical, curved panel and an extended area toward the driver and the front passenger. The carmaker dared to move the front side vents on the doors and made them circular, while the center vents were squared, like those from the Accord’s fourth generation. Apart from the front seats, there was a bench in the rear, but with minimal legroom and headroom.

The platform and the technologies used on the Prelude’s fourth-generation were the most important parts of the car. There was a choice of three engines under the hood, but only one of them featured the VTEC technology. Since it was a sport-coupe vehicle, the carmaker installed independent suspension in all corners and then added a four-wheel-steering option for specific versions and standard for others.

Full Description and Technical Specifications
HONDA Prelude
HONDA Prelude   1987 1992
1987 1992

The third generation of Honda Prelude featured a revolutionary styling compared to its predecessor, with styling cues shared with the later introduced Honda NSX.
The distinctive design draw people’s attention with the pop-up headlights introduced for the first time on a Prelude. The front end was smoothed out and the rear end changed with the spoiler integrated into the trunk lid.

Visibility was improved by narrowing the roof pillars and the glass area was increased by 30%, Honda stating that the new roof was even stronger than the old one.

Honda brought many innovative features with the new Prelude, such as an extraordinary 0.34 drag coefficient and the world’s first mechanical four-wheel-steering system available for a passenger car. With the new 4WS, the car could go a little faster in turns than with the 2WS and as speed climbed, the drivers had a bit more room for error.

Despite a weight increase compared to the previous generation Prelude, the new model offered improved performance with the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder powerplant that put out 135 hp. The unit was mated with a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic. Quite impressive for the time, the Prelude needed around 9 seconds to reach 100 kp/h.

Inside, the Prelude was fitted with firm and comfortable manually adjustable bucket seats. The gauges were basic and easy to read and the dashboard was well laid out.

More interior room was available with the new generation and the cargo area could store plenty of luggages.

Full Description and Technical Specifications
HONDA Prelude
HONDA Prelude   1983 1987
1983 1987

Honda introduced the Prelude’s second generation in 1983 as a sporty compact coupe improved in every aspect over its predecessor.
When Honda designed the Prelude, it made it as a commuter car for the week and a sporty coupe for the weekend. It was unusual to see a car that was both fuel-efficient and still perform well on a race-track. Still, the car managed to accomplish both tasks successfully.

With its pop-up headlights and very low hood, the Prelude showed an aerodynamic look despite its wedge-shaped bodywork. At the front, the chromed line that surrounded the front fascia crossed the headlights’ covers and continued onto the sides, around the corner-mounted turn signals. Its long doors sported body-colored door-handles, which was not so common for those times. The door-mirrors, on the other hand, were black. In 1986, the Prelude received a slight facelift.

Inside, the nimble coupe featured sport bucket-seats with high-bolstering to keep its occupants in place during high-speed cornering. Its angular-shaped dashboard featured an instrument panel that showed the speedometer and tachometer in large dials, the fuel and coolant-temperature gauges on top corners.

But the most important upgrade was from the technical side. The Prelude featured a double-wishbone front suspension with unequal arms that increased the car’s handling. Honda claimed that the car could withstand up to 0.83 g on a skidpad. Under the hood, depending on the market, the carmaker installed a wide range of engines ranged between 101 hp and 160 hp (JDM only). While most versions were paired exclusively with a five-speed manual, some were available with a four-speed automatic as well.

Full Description and Technical Specifications
HONDA Prelude
HONDA Prelude   1979 1982
1979 1982

The first generation of the Prelude was launched in Japan in late 1978 and in the following year was unveiled in Europe and the U.S.

The sporty coupe was a good alternative for the Civic or the Accord, which were, despite their reliability, boring looking cars. The Prelude was a different breed, built with independent suspension in all corners, but on a different platform than the Accord.

Like the Accord and the first generation Civic, the Prelude featured round headlights in squared casings. A chromed rim surrounded the front fascia from the hood’s edge to the chromed, plastic bumper. A black grille with horizontal slats was installed and fille and the space between the headlights. The raked windshield started the short greenhouse lines, and a short decklid amplified the sporty look of the car.

The interior was fitted with cloth upholstery for most versions, while the top-trim level was fitted with Connely leather. While most of the cars from that era showed different dials for the tachometer and speedometer, Honda tried something different. The two dials were in a concentric layout. The inner-circle was dedicated to the tachometer and the outer one for the speedometer. In the middle, there was a small area for warning lights. It offered room for two but was fitted with another pair of seats in the back, but with minimal legroom and headroom.

The Prelude was fitted with two engine choices, with a 1.6-liter displacement for the base version and a more powerful, 1.8-liter four-pot unit for the top level.

Full Description and Technical Specifications

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