Many of us may have forgotten in the quarter-century since it was available in showrooms, but the Honda Prelude was always an expensive car for what it was, coming in significantly higher than the Civic — and even some Acura Integras at the time both were on sale. Now, a new rumor from Creative311.com, a Japanese car blog, suggests this positioning will continue in the model’s upcoming sixth generation.
Take it with a grain of salt, but Creative311 claims to have gotten its hands on pricing for the new Prelude in the Japanese market. What’s the number? ¥6,179,800. Converted to U.S. dollars, that equals about $41,900 at current exchange rates. Now, would this claimed price conveniently translate to the exact MSRP Americans see for the Prelude here? Don’t count on it, as all sorts of factors go into setting a car’s price in specific regions — and that’s before we even think about the constantly changing tariff landscape.
If this price is legit (again, consider it an unsubstantiated rumor for now), what we can do it compare this number to the price of other cars in Japan. For example, it’s notably higher than the Civic Type R’s base price of ¥4,997,300, or about $34,000. (That price for the Type R only highlights the disparity between car prices in Japan versus the United States; a Type R here starts at $47,090 these days.)
Does this automatically mean the Prelude will be the same? Not necessarily, so it’d be wise to curb any initial outrage and wait for Honda to reveal true pricing. But even if it's lower than this converted sticker, we wouldn't expect the Prelude to be cheap; Honda has always positioned it as the brand's version of a personal luxury coupe with a price to match. For context, the 2001 Prelude Type SH started at $26,540; make the calculation for inflation, and you're looking at just over $48,000 today.
While we await official pricing, however, Honda has launched a preview page of sorts for the Prelude on its Japanese consumer-facing website. It reveals that the car will be available in four colors in Japan: Moonlit White Pearl, Meteoroid Gray Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl and Flame Red. A blue/white and a blue/black interior are the only two options inside. A number of accessories (seen in this story's photos) will be made available, too, including a front lip, black badging, grille, a rear spoiler, wheels and mirrors. Regardless of what the Prelude actually winds up costing, it'll be hard to deny it's a handsome car.
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