By Back in the day, during the golden era of Japanese sports cars, Honda’s lineup consisted of numerous amazing cars, which were great performers offered at a reasonable price. The Prelude was definitely one of them. Although it was discontinued more than two decades ago, it still has a large following among Honda lovers and automotive enthusiasts in general. That’s why there are so many rumors about its possible return. Moreover, there aren’t just rumors, but also a number of digital renderings that show how the new iteration would look like. One of the most interesting is the work that shows the 2024 Honda Prelude ZL1, which would come as a production of GM and Honda cooperation.
The reason why this source suggests such a setup is the fact that these two companies have been working together for a while. More precisely, General Motors supplies the Japanese manufacturer with battery and electric motors technology, and it is responsible for many parts of the upcoming Honda EVs. However, this CGI rendering shows something completely different, something that would take this cooperation to a whole new level.
2024 Honda Prelude ZL1 Design
What’s so special about this 2024 Honda Prelude ZL1 rendering? First of all, it was done by Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, which already released so many digital renderings that became legendary. What we can see in this case is that there isn’t much in common with the previous generations of Prelude models.
In most cases, recreations of familiar nameplates from the past also involve close resemblance in terms of styling. However, this time things are different. This rendering shows a Prelude that’s based on, believe it or not, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. That’s where the ZL1 moniker comes from. So, what you can clearly see is Camaro’s silhouette, with a familiar shape, while the front and rear ends bring design solutions that are more typical for Honda models. Of course, there are a few old-Prelude bits as well, but most of the vehicle is actually heavily based on Chevy’s muscle car.
What’s particularly interesting about this render is that, if take this car to happen some day, the cooperation would go further and wouldn’t include EV development only, but also joint work on internal-combustion cars. We don’t see this scenario as particularly possible but it’s an interesting approach in any case.
2024 Honda Prelude ZL1 Engine
Of course, the most interesting question, in this case, would be the powertrain. Since we are talking about an internal-combustion powertrain, Camaro’s super-capable supercharged V8 is the first thing that comes to mind. We are talking about the well-known 6.2-liter Supercharged V8 that puts out 650 horsepower.
However, the problem begins once you remember that Honda makes some of the best internal-combustion engines in the world, famous for their durability and reliability. So, why would they use GM’s engine? Instead, we could imagine a scenario where the Japanese manufacturer used a well-known 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6, in a combination with multiple electric motors, with a setup that’s similar to one found in the NSX supercar.
All-Electric Prelude
A comeback of sports coupe sounds too good to be true. Simply, we live in the era of more practical, bulkier cars, so it’s not impossible to see Honda using this nameplate for something completely different, for an electric car for example.
That wouldn’t be the first time to see famous nameplates used for new electric cars. Ford did it with Mustang, while GM is releasing a whole range of new EVs with old nameplates. The Honda could easily do the same. We can already find numerous reports about the all-electric 2028 Honda Prelude
Although these romantic stories about the genuine resurrection of Prelude sound great, the chances to see them happening are minimal. Instead, we rather think that, if Honda is about to revive this nameplate, it would use it to popularize its EV lineup. That could be a sporty EV, but it could easily be an all-electric SUV.
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