2026 Honda Prelude to undercut Ford Mustang and Nissan Z on price

The born-again Honda Prelude will be priced from $65,000 drive-away in Australia, undercutting the Nissan Z and Ford Mustang, with order books opening today ahead of a mid-year arrival.

Pricing for the all-new 2+2-seat hybrid coupe – which will be available in a single model grade, despite rumours of a more potent Type R version – includes any colour choice; Honda remains an outlier in not charging extra for ‘premium’ paint.

The new Prelude’s $65k price tag makes it cheaper than the Nissan Z, which starts at $76,160 before on-road costs, and also the Ford Mustang, with the turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost coupe priced from $72,990 before on-roads.

It’s also $14,000 lower than the Honda Civic Type R (with which it shares its front-wheel drive platform, suspension and brake components), which was priced at $79,000 drive-away before 2025 stock allocations of the hot hatch sold out.

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The Prelude nameplate was last sold by Honda Australia in 2001, when it was priced at $50,209 before on-road costs – equivalent to $95,980 in 2025 dollars, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s inflation calculator.

Alongside its more traditional rivals, however, the new coupe is more expensive than the Mazda MX-5 RF, the hardtop version of Mazda’s iconic roadster, which is priced between $53,790 and $56,790 before on-road costs.

It’s also significantly dearer than other compact rear-wheel drive coupes like the Toyota GR86, which ranges from $43,940 to $46,090 plus ORCs for the top-spec GR86 GTS, while the Toyota’s Subaru BRZ twin starts from $47,890 plus ORCs.

Honda Australia has also announced capped-price servicing of $199 for each of the first five services.

While service intervals have not been confirmed, they are expected to mirror the Civic’s 12-month/10,000km schedule, so capped prices should cover the standard five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which includes five years of roadside assistance.

Pitched as a grand tourer (GT), the reincarnated Prelude is front-wheel drive and employs the same e:HEV hybrid powertrain as the Civic and CR-V, pairing a 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors for combined outputs of 147kW of power and 315Nm of torque.

There’s no manual transmission, with the Prelude instead exclusively fitted with Honda’s direct-drive e-CVT (continuously variable transmission), featuring shift paddles and simulated throttle ‘blipping’ on downshifts.

The chassis includes adaptive dampers from the Civic Type R, along with its dual-axis front suspension and four-piston Brembo front brakes, riding on 19-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, the Prelude closely mirrors the Civic, with a similar dashboard design, leather-trimmed sports seats, a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster, and a 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Google built-in, plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Prelude marks a return to sports coupes for Honda as Toyota reportedly prepares to revive the Celica with hybrid power. The world’s largest automaker and Australian market leader has also been spied testing a mid-engined model widely tipped to be a reborn MR2 to slot below the GR GT supercar, although the Supra is currently in hiatus. MORE: Explore the Honda showroom