Honda Benchmarked the 2026 Prelude Against Porsche 911, Alpine A110
Honda picked some surprising machinery to help hone the latest Prelude.
If you're like us, you're probably trying to figure out where the new 2026 Honda Prelude falls within the market. It's natural to use comparison to do so, but the challenge here is there isn't anything quite like Honda's $43,195 hybrid-powered coupe on the market. Honda agrees—and it used the Prelude's unique market positioning to benchmark the new car against some very different machinery.
"Exactly how you felt, we felt the same way: it's hard to benchmark this vehicle," said Tomoyuki Yamagami at the Prelude drive program last week (through a translator). Yamagami-san is the lead development manager for Prelude, and has been with the company for over 20 years. He added that the sixth-generation model, like the classics before it, isn't so much targeting existing vehicles. "It's kind of going for a completely different market," said Yamagami, "creating its own market."
Emphasizing how cars drive, Yamagami namedropped some serious machinery. "When you think about the specific component, such as for example the dynamics of it or how it drove, we did consider and test drive some other vehicles while developing," explained Yamagami. "For example, the NSX as well as the Alpine A110 and also the (Porsche) 911."
A trio of low-slung vehicles with turbocharged engines mounted behind the driver might make for an odd comparison to a front-engined hybrid coupe. We here at AutoGuide can't comment on the Alpine A110 but know that the French sports car has earned considerable praise since relaunching back in 2017. Both the NSX and 911 are known quantities however, blending driving enthusiasm with honest-to-goodness daily driver ability. Moreover, there's a holistic approach to driving the Acura and 911; no one element outshines the others, unless we're talking the niche models like a GT3 RS. To that end, Honda has made a lot of commotion about the Prelude adopting the Civic Type R's adaptive suspension and Brembo brakes. This isn't just a hybrid Civic coupe.
There's another angle at play here too: both the NSX and 911 were/are not the most powerful options in their broader class. Playing the numbers game a bog-standard 911 is outgunned by a similarly-priced Corvette Stingray; the NSX was no quicker than the Nissan GT-R when it launched but was nearly double the price. The Prelude's price has been a big point of discussion since it was announced: $43,195 ($51,820 CAD) including destination.
"When you mention that some customers may feel that $43,000 is too high, it could be because it’s hard to benchmark," added Yamagami. It's worth pointing out that while the Prelude seems pricey in 2026 dollars, adjusted for inflation the 2001 Prelude Type SH's $26,540 sticker would be $48,273 today. Back then a Ford Mustang GT Premium could be had for $23,880; now the lowest MSRP on a GT is $48,555.
How or even if such an elevated driving experience translates to the Prelude is something we'll save for out first drive, which you can read tomorrow.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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