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Honda confirmed the Prelude will return for a sixth generation in Europe, with sales starting as early as next year.
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The only confirmed powertrain detail is that the future Prelude will be a hybrid.
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With that in mind, we think it is unlikely the reborn coupe will be offered with a manual transmission.
Here at Car and Driver, we love a manual gearbox. You’d be hard-pressed to find a group of adults more enamored with three-pedal transportation than our staff. But that doesn’t mean we think that all manual transmissions are equal. Among the remaining few, the gearboxes in the current Honda Civic Si and the Civic Type R are close to the pinnacle. With Honda’s confirmation this summer that the sixth-generation Prelude will be sold in Europe as early as next year, you might think we’re overjoyed at the thought of another manual Honda. You’d be wrong.
A Stick-Shift Prelude Is Unlikely
It’s not that we don’t like the idea of a manual Prelude in theory, it’s that we don’t think it will happen. While Honda has sold manual hybrids before with the Civic, the Insight, and as recently as the CR-Z, it’s a lot less likely this time around.
So far, the only powertrain detail that Honda has confirmed is that the reborn coupe will be a hybrid. That suggests it’ll feature the gas-fed 2.0-liter four-cylinder and two-motor hybrid system found in the CR-V, the Accord, and the Civic models. The Accord and CR-V both generate 204 horsepower, and the Civic makes an even 200 ponies.
Unfortunately, adding a manual wouldn’t be as simple as replacing the hybrid’s transmission with, say, the Civic Si’s six-speed unit. That’s because Honda’s current hybrid system operates without a transmission—or at least what we would normally consider a transmission. Instead, the drive ratios are fixed, and the engine works in harmony with two electric motors to switch between electric-only, gasoline-only, and blended gas and electric without shifting gears. The smaller motor mostly operates as a generator, while the larger one helps drive the wheels. At higher speeds (i.e. on the highway), the engine can connect to the drive wheels via a clutch and gets assistance from the secondary motor when necessary.
While enthusiasts are rightfully excited about the prospect of a new Prelude, it almost certainly won’t sell in big numbers. The idea of Honda investing the necessary resources into redesigning its clever hybrid system just to accommodate a third pedal for a low-volume coupe sounds unlikely to us. Instead, we could see Honda eventually go in the same direction as Toyota and Lexus and introduce a simulated stick-shift transmission.
Car and Driver reached out to Honda to ask about the potential for a manual Prelude. A company spokesperson left the door open to interpretation, saying “Honda is always pursuing driving pleasure. This alongside maintaining Honda’s ‘fun to drive’ [ethos] is at the heart of the Prelude Concept.“
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