- Dec 18, 2024
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The Honda Prelude was last available in the United States for the 2001 model year, but the company has announced a revival of the nameplate for 2026. The new model is a hybrid-powered performance coupe with smooth styling. Full specs aren’t available yet, but Honda reportedly plans to market the model around its performance capabilities.
At the same time, Ayrton Senna is a person with inextricable ties to Honda’s performance past. Senna drove Formula One cars using the Japanese automaker’s engines from 1987 through 1992 and scored three World Driver’s Championships in the sport during that time. Senna also assisted Honda with road car development, including an iconic video of him wearing loafers and driving an Acura NSX around Suzuka.
Honda capitalizes on the upcoming Prelude revival by re-releasing a pair of classic commercials where Senna promotes the coupe’s fourth generation. The first clip (above) puts the F1 driver behind the coupe’s wheel on a mountain road.
The video “Ayrton Senna’s Drive” (above) is from 1992, roughly two years before the racer’s fatal crash in Italy in 1994. Guitars and violins wail as Senna drives. “To see clearly and take a direct path to safety and excitement, these are my ultimate dreams,” he says in voiceover. “Honda Prelude. Just move it.”
The gorgeous road, romantic music, and Senna’s voice combine into an evocative ad for the classic Prelude. The spot communicates that this is a sporty touring car for smoothly conquering curvy roads, rather than being a hardcore canyon carver.
The other ad focuses entirely on Senna. It’s 30 seconds of him speaking over a video showing the Prelude. This one is less exciting than the other commercial (below) but puts the spotlight directly on the F1 driver. At the end, he’s wearing a black turtleneck while leaning against the car’s trunk.
For context, the fourth-gen Prelude launched in the United States for the 1992 model year. It arrived with two powertrain choices. The base 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine produced 135 horsepower and 142 pound-feet of torque, and a five-speed manual drove the front wheels. The Si grade received a 2.3-liter four-cylinder making 160 hp and 156 lb-ft, with a five-speed manual. A later VTEC grade increased the output to 190 hp and 158 lb-ft.
The available electronically controlled four-wheel-steering system was one of the fourth-gen Prelude’s major selling points. The tech actively turned the rear wheels for improved handling.
Honda isn’t providing many technical details about the new Prelude yet. We know it uses a CVT gearbox with what the automaker calls the S+ Shift drive mode. The setup is supposed to simulate a conventionally geared transmission.
Honda is a company that embraces its heritage by celebrating past successes. Building hype for the new Prelude only makes sense. The vehicle retains a certain amount of nostalgia for folks in the 30s and 40s who know about the nameplate for the old days. Re-releasing old ads is a way to make folks more excited about the revival, but the brand needs to make sure it doesn’t over-promise and then under-deliver.
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