More evidence points to the return of the Honda Prelude

Honda has trademarked the Prelude name in the US, giving weight to a previous unverified report out of Japan suggesting the coupe could return as an electric sports-car.

An all-new Honda Prelude coupe may well be coming in the future, and a new trademark filing is the first hard evidence to support the return of the iconic nameplate.

In recent weeks, Honda has filed a trademark application for the Prelude name in the US – first spotted by MotorTrend – and lending weight to an earlier report of the car’s development emerging out of Japan.

While trademarks are no guarantee of a name being used, this trademark was filed under a category reserved for “land vehicles, namely, automobiles and automotive structural parts”.

In November 2022, Japanese publication Best Car reported Honda was working on resurrecting the Prelude name for a new electric coupe due in 2028 – with the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ twins firmly in its sights.

The report followed teaser images of two new sports-cars shown by Honda in April 2022, one being a “flagship model” – which is expected to be a successor to the NSX supercar – while the other was labelled as a “specialty” vehicle, with proportions similar to a front-engined vehicle.

The coupe’s svelte silhouette inspired a speculative illustration by Best Car (top), providing an idea of what the Prelude could look like when it eventually arrives.

The Prelude hasn’t been available to buy for more than two decades, disappearing in 2001 after being part of Honda’s model range since 1978.

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