Honda Prelude Si

The Honda Prelude was a front wheel drive I4-engined coupe that was manufactured by Honda between 1978 and 2001. It spanned five generations of cars but was discontinued upon the release of the fourth-generation Honda Integra in Japan in late 2001, due to its decreasing sales and popularity.

The Prelude's perennial competitor has been the Toyota Celica, another I4-powered coupe introduced several years prior to the Prelude. Throughout the 1980s, it was challenged by the Nissan Silvia, Isuzu Impulse, Mitsubishi FTO, Mitsubishi Cordia (later the Eclipse), and the Mazda MX-6.

1991

In 1991, there was a major overhaul of the fourth generation Prelude, released outside of Japan in 1992. The car had a 58% front and 42% rear weight distribution. The four wheel steering system was changed to an electronic version and the engine was increased in size from 2.1 L to 2.2 L for the base "S" model (SOHC F22A1 engine, 135 hp (101 kW) @ 5200 rpm, 142 ft·lbf (193 N·m) @ 4000 rpm) and "VTEC" model (DOHC VTEC H22A1, 190 hp (143 kW) @ 6800 rpm, 158 ft·lbf (212 N·m) @ 5500 rpm), with a less performance-oriented 2.3 L for the "Si" (DOHC H23A1, 160 hp (115 kW) @ 5800 rpm, 156 ft·lbf (212 N·m) @ 5300 rpm.

In the UK, there was also a 2.0i model that was rated around 125 bhp (93 kW). 1993 was the last year that the "Si-VTEC" name was used, and starting in 1994 it shortened to just "VTEC" and stayed that way throughout the rest of the generation. The Prelude 2.2 VTEC is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a VTi. In Canada, the Si was called the SR, and the VTEC was called the SR-V.

This model also marked the end for the pop-up headlights and a lot of other design features that had become "prelude standard". The rear end was no longer flat and wide; but wide, rounded and fairly high in comparison. The front fascia of the car became wider with fixed headlights. The glass sunroof made way for a steel sliding roof which no longer retracted into the car but extended out and over it. This in effect creates a spoiler which reduced air noise when driving.

The dashboard was generally accepted as the extraordinary feature of this model. The dashboard stretched from left to right in the car, being equal in height over the full length and housing all dials and indicators. The light blue backlighting introduced in the third generation was continued. Later models (1994 and on) also featured translucent speedometer and tachometer needles. In Japan, there was also an in-dash television set available as a standard option; as a result, many enthusiasts have tried to modify their Preludes' dashboards in order to fit a small television set. The Japanese version of the Prelude also had certain options which were never found in state-bound models but did show up in the Canadian market. For instance, the Japanese Prelude had power folding and heated side mirrors, as well as a rear windscreen wiper while the Canadian market had heated seats. The fourth generation Prelude also shares suspension components with the fifth (94-97) and sixth (98-02) generation Honda Accord.

In the UK, the Honda Prelude was never considered an essential purchase by the majority of sports car enthusiasts who overlooked it for the more trendy Toyota MR-2 and other well-known rivals. This might be partly due to the Prelude's reportedly cramped interior, though perhaps the Prelude was also overshadowed by more prominent performance Hondas such as the Civic Type-R, the NSX and later the S2000. However, the Prelude is extremely competitive in terms of style, speed and build quality, and it has achieved something of a cult status in the UK and US where demand is still high for the sportier, manual transmission versions.

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