Before the return of the nameplate, the Prelude was a sporty compact coupe loosely derived from the Accord. It was produced over five generations from 1978 to 2001.

Given just how interesting the Prelude is, we decided to cross the show stanchions and take a closer look at this two-door coupe.

First up, let’s talk size. With the Accord stretching to almost five meters in length (4,970 mm), the Prelude Concept doesn’t seem remotely in the same size category. It looks closer to the current-generation Civic, actually. Some have even pointed out that the general shape echoes the now-discontinued Civic Si Coupe.

Then, there are the proportions. If the Prelude were built atop a purpose-built EV platform, why would it get proportions more akin to a conventional front-wheel drive coupe? Andrew Quillin, senior manager of public relations at American Honda weighed in and said that the Prelude isn’t pure electric; it’s a hybrid-electric coupe.

According to Quillin, this was announced in April 2022, when Honda said it was going to explore the creation of two sporty electrified models, a specialty and a flagship. The Prelude is that specialty model powered by an electrified powertrain.

This could point to Honda spinning off the Integra and Prelude off the same platform—the 11th generation Civic—but outfitted with two different powertrains. The Integra could be the performance hatchback, powered by conventional turbocharged internal combustion engines. Meanwhile, the Prelude could be more of a grand tourer, powered by an uprated version of the Civic Hybrid’s two-motor e:HEV system. Currently, that 2.0-liter e:HEV system makes 215 horsepower and 315 Nm.

Going back to the styling, the Prelude Concept has numerous carbon fiber-like detailing. These are found on the roof, side mirrors, and the aero kit. It has a three-piece DRL that visually breaks the front-end giving it a bit of volume. The rear produces the best view with the full-length taillight cluster and the retro “Prelude” script.

20-inch wheels fill in each corner fitted with 245/35R20 tires and peeking out of the high-gloss rims are Brembo brake calipers power-coated in blue. This blue accent is also found at the center of the lower grille and at the rear bumper too.

The Prelude Concept doesn’t have a finished interior, but despite the heavy tint, if you look in hard enough, you’ll see the same interior found in current-generation Hondas. With that, it gets a predominantly horizontal dashboard with a large “floating-style” infotainment screen in the middle. It also looks to have large knobs. The show car also seemed to have a two-tone interior with a black upper and lower white dash.

Honda is considering to produce it for the Japanese market, but given the show car has the steering wheel on the left side, it could very well make the jump to global markets such as North America and even the Philippines.