Rumors had suggested the S2000 would be reborn as an EV, but the company introduced a Prelude hybrid at the Japan Mobility Show
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The Honda Prelude concept was the undisputed star of the Japan Mobility Show and its unveiling came as a surprise as the rumor mill indicated the company was working on an S2000 successor.
While word of an S2000 revival pops up every few years, Honda Motor Europe Senior Vice President Tom Gardner noted they celebrated their 50th anniversary with the iconic roadster and hinted something special was coming for their 75th anniversary this fall.
Gardner was vague on specifics, but the initial report was followed by another saying the automaker would “stun the world with its first electric sports car.” It claimed the car would ride on the e:N architecture, have a rear-mounted electric motor, and potentially gain a Type R variant in the future.
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More: The Honda Prelude Returns As A Hybrid-Electric Coupe
What actually happened was quite a bit different as Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe unveiled the Prelude concept towards the end of his speech. The executive didn’t say much about it, but noted he mentioned future sports cars at last year’s electrification briefing and said he “would like to show you one of them” today.
This is likely a reference to the teaser image, which showed two sports cars that are set to be among the 30 electrified vehicles coming by 2030. Interestingly, Mibe referred to the Prelude concept as a “specialty sports model” and that’s virtually the same language used during the initial tease. At the time, one of the cars was called a “specialty” vehicle while the other was referred to as a “flagship.”
The former was originally believed to be the S2000 revival, but the similar language and production-like design of the Prelude concept suggest that car will be the one that gets built. Mibe implied as much by saying, “In order to offer the ‘joy of driving’ only Honda can realize, we are diligently progressing with development, so please keep your expectations high for this model.”
With all that being said, are you disappointed the Prelude appears primed for production instead of the S2000?
