Good take on this, I never considered this, but with Honda move to hybrid and EV, there's no room for Si in the future. This will get the Civic Hybrid motor and probably all the sporty suspension bits and maybe the LSD once the Si is canceled.
It is a liftback similar to the Integra - it's got a cut line in roof and when Raiti was reviewing the concept he noted that the rear glass and trunklid were all one piece - you can also see the hatch supports behind the rear glass in some shots.
The odd line that shoots over makes it appear to be a trunk. I forgot about Raiti.
In that case, I'm definitely interested. Wish it were a four door, but I want a hybrid liftback. I know others here want a manual, but I don't personally care for it.
Yep, the 10th gen civic coupe was really the last of the front drive compact coupes, everything else is RWD or luxury level AWD. I wasn't sure what I would ever end up replacing my 2019 civic coupe with, but the Prelude seems like the perfect candidate. I'd happily consider something RWD like the toyobaru twins, but it still snows on occasion in Ohio, and I don't have space to store winter tires, plus their interiors and features are lacking compared to my coupe.
Most definitely is FWD, which, as much as people would like an AWD Prelude, historically it was always a FWD car. I think they're also trying very hard to keep the price point in check, ideally it needs to not be much more expensive than the GR86/BRZ. A slightly markup for the hybrid and being more premium, but if I was going to bet money I figure it'll end up falling into the same price bracket as the Integra, about $32k-38k depending on trim levels. My assumption is that there will be 2 trims, sport and sport touring (or possibly Si). Sport will more or less have the same equipment levels as the civic Sport Hybrid while the Sport Touring/Si top trim will be equipped similarly to the Integra ASpec.
I think if it's a hybrid with cvt it needs to be priced under the BRZ. How much was the Veloster-- that would have been its competition
I figure it'll be priced at or around where the civic hatchback hybrids are priced, probably slightly higher just to get more profit since it'll be a low volume seller. It is being positioned as a more premium GT type of sports coupe, nicer interior, better sound system, larger, more versatile than the BRZ/GR86. Honda also hasn't yet 100% confirmed that it won't get some kind of power bump over the civic hybrids (they did say they were prioritizing performance over fuel efficiency).
This will be FWD, but it looks like Honda is developing an eAWD system according to some presentation slides. I really hate to see it, but I think we know exactly how it'll go.
Acura deciding to skip hybrids in favor of all EVs was a dumb decision IMO. The Integra would've benefitted from a hybrid option (along with the 1.5T and 2.0T). Accord needs to offer AWD badly - same goes for the Odyssey minivan, but Honda needs to create a more powerful Hybrid system first - one using a 2.4 liter and a slightly bigger battery that can put out 250hp or more that can be used in their larger vehicles. Something that can essentially replace / stand along side the 2.0T and V6 engines.
