Honda Could Be Hiding The Prelude Type R In Its Auto Show Promo

It also looks like Honda is bringing some vehicles that it's not ready to talk about yet. Two very sporty-looking coupe profiles under the covers in the booth image. Is Honda just teasing us, or are we looking at some fun new cars from a brand we know can deliver plenty of fun?

Two Coupes Are Hiding Under Virtual Covers

Japan's only major new-vehicle show is held only every other year. That makes it even more important, and makes certain that the country's domestic car builders will bring out their newest, best, and most fascinating models.

Today, Honda announced that it planned to bring the 0 Series sedan and SUV prototypes. While the two EVs were revealed for the first time in concept form at CES in 2024 and then in this closer to production version earlier this year, they have not been shown in the automaker's home country. That will soon change.

But now that Honda has reportedly axed plans to bring the 0 Series SUV to the US, it's the other covered cars we're interested in.

In the first rendering of Honda's booth for the show, there are five vehicles under covers in the front row. One appears to be a massive SUV, especially parked next to something that might be the electric N One, but looks a little too long in the nose to be that one. The one closest to the "camera" is another crossover.

It's the two in the middle that have our full attention. One looks like it's the new Honda Prelude hybrid. The initial Prelude concept was first revealed at this show in 2023, so it makes sense that the finally-ready production car will also be on display. Since it's covered, it's possible that we're looking at a high-performance model. Not the anticipated Type S, or a Type R, though, unless Honda is seriously scaling back its performance car rear wings.

The one beside it, slightly further from our view, is also intriguing. It could be the angle, but we don't think that's the same silhouette as the Prelude. It's definitely a coupe, but what coupe is it? Does the different silhouette show that this is the faster Prelude? Is it something else entirely?

We haven't heard much about an NSX replacement recently, and this doesn't exactly look like one, but we wouldn't put it past Honda. After all, the Prelude at the same show in 2023 was a huge surprise. Perhaps Honda saw the attention that Mazda's Iconic SP and the Subaru Sport Mobility Concept grabbed at the 2023 show and decided that it wanted in.

Other fun reminders at the show that Honda makes a dizzying array of different products will include a full-sized HondaJet cabin, a 1988 McLaren Honda F1 car, and its Miimo robotic lawnmowers. Plus a section dedicated to Honda's Ignition program, where it pushes employees to apply their clever ideas that are outside of the auto sphere. The show starts on October 29, and we'll be there to bring you all the news as it happens.