The 2026 Honda Prelude has been confirmed for Australia and is scheduled to arrive in local showrooms mid-next year as the brand looks to recapture some of its former sports car glory.
The Prelude will enter the sports car market alongside two-door coupes including the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86 twins, Nissan Z, Toyota Supra, and Ford Mustang.
In late 2024, Honda confirmed it would begin production of a new sixth-generation Prelude, revealing a two-door hybrid sports car set for Europe and the United States (US) – but Australia wasn’t included in the global announcement.
Honda Australia renewed its expired trademark for the Prelude name – last seen in Australia in 2001 – in December 2023, a move often made by automakers to protect a nameplate from use by rivals, but the company shared no plans for a local launch of the reborn sports car.
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This week, Honda Australia told media, including CarExpert, the Prelude will return to showrooms in mid-2026.
“We’re thrilled to add this iconic nameplate to the Honda lineup next year,” said Honda Australia director Rob Thorp.
“Prelude taps into a rare combination of nostalgia and performance with broad appeal across generations of Honda customers, old and new.”
No vehicle specifics, such as equipment levels, pricing or otherwise, were announced.
“The Prelude … we can’t share a lot of stuff – I want to say so many things, but I think the really important thing is that such an iconic nameplate that’s had such rich brand heritage and history, is a model we’re bringing back to Australia next year,” said Mr Thorp.
The Prelude is set to go on sale in the US – Honda’s biggest volume market by far – in late 2025, ahead of its debut in Europe before its Australian arrival.
The first of a new “specialty sport era of electrification”, according to Honda, the new two-door sports car will share components, including its front-wheel drive underpinnings, with the Civic hatchback.
This includes Honda’s ‘e:HEV’ hybrid powertrain – also offered in the Accord – using a four-cylinder petrol engine and dual electric motors, but the Prelude will be the first to feature Honda’s S+ Shift technology.
The S+ Shift technology simulates gear changes using paddle shifters. There won’t be a manual transmission, with the company’s global electrification boss previouslyruling out such an optionfor the Prelude.
The US version – and most likely Australian version, too – will also use the same high-performance Brembo brakes as the Civic Type R, and use a Prelude-specific version of the Type R’s front and rear suspension.
Honda says the Prelude will embody “the joy of maneuvering”, claiming its “low and sleek body” will contribute to its “glider-like exhilaration”.
Its cabin – which appears to carry over a significant number of parts from the Civic – will use a blue-and-white theme, and will use a more bolstered driver’s seat with the front passenger seat reprofiled for “moderately wrapped comfort”.
The Prelude isn’t the only sports car name Honda has revived.
Once one of several Honda sports cars in showrooms – including the S2000 roadster and the legendary NSX – the Prelude previously sat above the Integra in the brand’s lineup.
The Integra, last offered in Australia in 2006, was reintroduced in China in 2021 and the US in 2022, where it remains sold under the ‘Acura’ premium Honda sub-brand – but has been ruled out for showrooms here.
Following the demise of the NSX and coupe versions of the Civic and Accord over the past decade, Honda no longer sells any two-door coupes globally, something the launch of the Prelude will rectify.
MORE: 2026 Honda Prelude interior revealed with lots of Civic parts