Honda Prelude HRC concept could preview a wider, more aggressive Type R model
Honda’s HRC Concepts show off the more aggressive aero options it may offer in the future for its sporting models
Honda has revealed a pair of winged-up concepts at the Tokyo Auto Salon: the Prelude HRC and Civic Type R HRC. The suite of aerodynamic upgrades look somewhat incongruous on the decidedly unaggressive Prelude, and add insult to injury on the Civic, given Honda no longer sells the world’s best hot hatch in the UK.
The kits are as you’d expect, comprising more aggressive front and rear bumpers, lower, more jutting valances, plus skirts and wings. On the Civic there’s an extended vented box arch at the front, relieving high pressure in the front wheelarches, while much larger rear wing end plates and an extended diffuser also ought to aid stability. There are no confirmed figures in terms of added downforce or mechanical changes, though the car does appear to have a slightly wider track at the front.
Indeed, that strange minority who decried the FL5 Civic Type R’s reduction in visual aggression compared to the FK8 Civic Type R it replaced ought to be sated by this. Honda claims the kit has been developed ‘by incorporating HRC technologies and the expertise of its racing drivers’ to deliver a ‘further refined joy of driving’.
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Honda says it is currently developing an HRC parts catalogue for the new Prelude coupe, and this concept shows just how far it can go if there’s demand. Unlike the Civic, the Prelude is not wearing any kind of camouflage wrap, so the more aggressive front and rear bumpers, skirts and wing are in full view, gaudy forged carbon and all.
What we can also see are very clearly widened arches (housing sportier wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres), denoting a significantly wider track for this Prelude HRC Concept. Could this suggest there’s a more serious Prelude Type R on the way? Possibly.
Certainly such aggressive aerodynamic touches are slightly out of step with what is currently a bit of a tepid coupe, at least when it comes to its powertrain. Not giving the Prelude a proper shot of manual-transmissioned, Type R-engined adrenaline would feel like a missed opportunity. That’s certainly our best hope for a proper driver’s Honda in the second half of this decade, given the withdrawal of the Civic Type R from UK showrooms.
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Honda does have its own sporting ambitions for the Prelude, taking the model as the basis for its next Japanese GT endurance racing car. Mind you, there has also been a Super GT Prius, so that’s not actually saying much.
