It’s safe to say the reception to the new Honda Prelude has been mild, with criticism coming for the coupe’s hybrid powertrain, CVT automatic and high price point.
On the other hand, the Honda Civic Type R continues to be a class-leading hot hatch, and has remained one of the performance cars of choice since it debuted almost four years ago.
Honda Racing Corporation, the Japanese brand’s motorsports arm, has been busy with both models, and previewed two HRC concepts at this week’s Tokyo Auto Salon.
For the Prelude, the brand announced it is developing “HRC Performance Parts” for the new hybrid coupe, and has previewed some of these on the concept.
Looking more like a Super GT racer than the easy-listening car it is, the performance parts have transformed the look of the Prelude, which now features a carbon fiber front splitter with side ducting, wider wheel-arches, thicker side skirts plus a huge diffuser and wing at the back.
Sitting under the guards are a new set of 19-inch HRC wheels, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres with a 265/30 profile, the same size as what’s on the Civic Type R.
Honda hasn’t said any more about the Prelude HRC Concept, but given the standard car is already fitted with Type R parts such as wider front and rear tracks, Honda’s unique dual-axis front suspension design and Brembo front brakes, it’s not out of the question that we may eventually get a hotter production version.
For the Civic Type R, HRC is keeping its changes under wraps, though it appears the concept car is sporting even more aggressive bodywork, including a variation of the carbon-fibre rear wing available in Australia for $5300.
“This HRC-spec concept model offers a further refined “joy of driving” unique to Honda honed at the forefront of racing environments,” Honda said in a press release.
Given the FL5 Civic Type R launched in 2022 but has slowly been phased out in a number of markets, it’s possible Honda is gearing up for a send off of its current hot hatch.
In addition to the two HRC-fettled models, Honda has rolled out a prototype of the upcoming Civic e:HEV RS, a sportier version of the hybrid liftback.
Wrapped in a livery which pays tribute to the JACCS Honda Accord which won the 1996 Japanese Touring Car Championship, the Civic e:HEV RS prototype previews the production model which will launch before the end of 2026.
It’ll adopt technology from the Prelude, becoming Honda’s second hybrid model to use its S+ Shift simulated gearshift technology.
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