I wasn't expecting the Honda Prelude would come to Australia

It's nice.

It's a nice thing that Honda is bringing the new Prelude coupe to Australia. If you remember the earlier 'Ludes as fondly as I do, you might even be stoked by the news.

But boy am I surprised! Honda Australia just doesn't do fun cars anymore, apart from the Civic Type R – which is such an anomaly in the current line-up, and so extremely performant, that it's basically a bull in Honda's own china shop.

In terms of broad sporty appeal, America has gotten the best of Honda for decades, now.

And, even though their line-up is now almost as dull as ours, the Civic Si is a great and long-running example of retaining some sports vibes: previously available as a coupe (!), it's now exclusively a sedan – but it comes with a manual transmission and an overall sports-oriented tune, making it a fun option in the Honda range without having to extend to the pricey Type R.

Then there's the upmarket Acura range that we'll likely never see in Australia, but it'd be nice to get – for example – the very cool 'Acura' Integra here again, with a Honda badge. Yeah it's a sedan now, but it makes 230kW, has a manual, and looks mean. It even has flared guards!

But, okay, new sixth-gen Prelude. I'm glad to see it, even if it's a bit weird looking at the front end. Don't you think the nose dips too much and extends too far beyond the headlights? I dunno, maybe I'll come 'round to it.

It'll arrive in Australia sometime around mid-2026, and maybe by then we'll know something concrete about its petrol-electric hybrid powertrain. Yup, it was revealed about a year ago and Honda still hasn't confirmed the basics.

In the Civic, there's a 135kW/315Nm hybrid system, so it could be that – but, the delay in revealing details might, hopefully, be a sign of something more impressive.

That'd nicely headline a coupe that's expected to borrow the Civic Type R's suspension package and Brembo brakes, so why not give us some more power while they're at it?

It'll still only have an automatic transmission and front-wheel drive, but neither of those points are likely to bother the target market – which isn't the same guy looking at a manual-equipped Nissan Z or Toyota GR86.

Speaking with Carsales, Honda's local boss said the likely buyer could be "older males who used to own them back in the '90s, buying them again – but you can see it opening up to a female audience as well because of the way it looks and drives and handles, which we’ve heard about."

“Maybe they owned one back in the 90s, or had a used one, because that’s what they bought during uni and in the 2000s. But this might be something that brings them back.”

We'll see, I guess. I have a feeling this will be one of those cars we're all glad to see on the road – since there are so few coupes available these days – but it might only end up selling in tiny numbers.

I'd love to be wrong, of course. The good ol' novated lease might see more sold than we'd otherwise get, since holders of novated leases don't need to think about resale value!

Now if they could just do us a Type R version...