Honda to unveil electric sports car concept next month as S2000 or Prelude successor

Honda will take the covers off an electric sports car concept in Tokyo next month, previewing what could morph into an all-new Prelude or S2000.

The Japanese car maker last year previewed a pair of sports coupes as part of its future electric-car plans – a 'Specialty' model with a front-engined-like silhouette (above), and a 'Flagship' model with mid-engined-like proportions similar to the NSX supercar.

Now – in a media statement issued overnight – Honda announced it would reveal a vehicle known as the Specialty Sports Concept at the 2023 Tokyo motor show (due to run from October 26 to November 5).

While few details on the vehicle have been published, the name confirms it is related to the S2000-styled vehicle teased last year – not a preview of a new NSX, as some reports have claimed.

While the Flagship model’s proportions are akin to the mid-engined NSX Supercar, the Specialty concept appeared to be more closely aligned to a traditional front-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car – such as the S2000.

However last month Honda filed a trademark application for the Prelude name in the US, giving extra weight to a November 2022 report by Japanese publication Best Car which claimed the car-maker was working on resurrecting the nameplate for a new electric coupe, due in 2028.

The Honda Prelude was axed globally in 2001 after five generations and 23 years in production as a front-wheel-drive, two-door coupe – while the rear-wheel-drive Honda S2000 convertible was built from 1999 to 2009.

A senior Honda executive also recently hinted at the car-maker bringing back a classic model for the brand’s 75th anniversary, which it is celebrating this year.

"Watch this space: [2023 is] 75 years [of Honda]. We had the S2000 at 50. Who knows…" Honda Europe vice president Tom Gardner reportedly told UK publication Autocar in May 2023.

Honda’s upcoming electric sports cars will form a part of the brand’s aim to launch 30 battery-powered models by 2030 – before it ditches petrol and diesel-powered cars entirely by 2040.