When the revived Honda Prelude launched, the internet responded in much the same way as it did to the Acura Integra or Toyota Supra: Complaining that the new version isn’t some million-horsepower supercar, which the original never was either. The Reddit threads all claim that the new Prelude is destined to fail due to its only having 200 horsepower and no manual transmission, but the Prelude’s actual buyers seem to disagree. In Japan, at least, preorders have vastly outstripped expected demand for the car to the point where Honda is increasing production to get customers their cars faster.
The Prelude may not be available for order yet in the United States, but buyers in Japan have been able to put their hard-earned cash down in Japan for just over a month. Since September 5, when preorders opened, Honda has sold 2,400 cars — eight times the 300 the company had planned. It’s enough that some dealers have halted ordering altogether, while Honda itself has promised additional production just to meet demand.
The Prelude is popular
Honda says that Prelude customers are primarily in their 50s and 60s, which aligns with broader trends around new-car buyers. Those 50- and 60-year-olds overwhelmingly ordered their cars in Moonlit White Pearl, which made up 63% of orders, making them some of the most boring people alive — though still better than the 16% who opted for Meteoroid Grey Metallic, or the 11% who bought Crystal Black Pearl. Only 10% opted for Honda’s sole actual color offering, Frame Red, though that may be on Honda’s offerings more than buyer preference.
When Honda opens up orders on the U.S. side, we’ll see whether the car lives up to its Japanese success here on our shores. With any luck, it will — we deserve more coupes on our roads, whether or not they’re performance monsters. Maybe, if we’re lucky, a successful Prelude could even convince other automakers that less performance-oriented coupes are still wanted on our shores. And, of course, show Honda that we want a Prelude Type R.
