Honda Prelude Fans Want A Type R, But The Business Case Is Brutal

Let’s be honest: the Honda Prelude’s sporty coupe styling writes checks its 2.0-liter hybrid powertrain and continuously variable transmission can’t cash, and with it sharing much in common with the Civic, questions about a hotter, Type R-inspired variant are always being asked. Honda Australia president and CEO Jay Joseph has now explained why those questions are always doused with cold water, as reported by regional publication CarSales. The executive has plainly explained that a manual or turbocharged Prelude simply won’t happen, not because it’s impossible, but because it’s impractical from a cost perspective.Hi-Po Honda Prelude Would Cost Hundreds of Millions of Dollars

Honda Racing Corporation

Speaking to Australian media, Joseph recited the usual PR-sculpted answers that Honda has previously given, saying that the Prelude was designed to appeal to a different global audience than the Civic Type R and saying that the hybrid powertrain made sense for the Prelude as a “lifestyle vehicle.” But he later went into more detail a …