New Prelude Hits 0-62 in 7.2 Seconds with Launch Control Trick, Yet Still Loses to the Civic

By Jordan Grim • October 26, 2025 • 07:15 AM (PDT)

Honda’s revived coupe impressed dealers, but not speed enthusiasts, as tests revealed its hybrid powertrain is only fast enough for nostalgia.

A Japanese owner used a pedal trick to improve the Prelude’s launch.
In a follow-up test, the coupe’s 0–62 time dropped from 9.2 to 7.2 seconds.
Despite the improvement, it’s still slower than the Civic Hybrid, let alone the Toyota GR86.

The Honda Prelude is coming to U.S. roads very soon, and the hype is real. In Japan, so many previous owners ordered the car that some dealers stopped taking new orders. However, we wonder if owners will be disappointed after driving it. It turns out that even a makeshift launch control mode isn’t enough to make the new Prelude truly fast.

But let’s back up for a second. A few weeks ago, a video surfaced from Japan showing a new owner timing a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) run, which resulted in a rather embarrassing 9.2 seconds.

At the time, we suspected he hadn’t used the launch control trick seen in the Civic Hybrid, which shares its powertrain with the Prelude. Honda says the Prelude doesn’t have a dedicated launch control feature, although the same pedal coordination produces a similar effect.

The same owner has now posted a follow-up video, this time using that unofficial method for a quicker start. The result was a significantly improved 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) time of 7.2 seconds, but that’s still behind C&D’s 6.2-second run to 60 mph for the 2026 Civic Sport Touring Hybrid.

Still, that difference could be attributed to driver and road conditions, which certainly play a role. Either way, it seems you’ll have to work a little to get good numbers out of the Prelude.

Now, it’s certainly faster than the previous tests we’ve documented here, but it’s not much faster. It also doesn’t help that the old Prelude was known for affordable speed. According to one database, it’s even slower than a 1993 Prelude VTEC. Keep in mind that the ’93 Prelude was much harder to launch.

In the video below, we see the driver using both the brake and accelerator simultaneously for the best launch. This method shaved almost two full seconds off the previous best times reported online.

Despite this improvement, this new little Honda is still considerably slower than cars like the Toyota GR86 and even a nine-year-old Audi A3 e-tron, as some Redditors pointed out. One wrote, “My Passport is about the same as the Prelude, and it’s as big as a small apartment.”

Honda’s two-door hybrid produces 200 hp (149 kW) from its 2.0-liter engine and two-motor system, which sends power to the front wheels. It also weighs approximately 3,200 lbs (1,460 kg), which is heavier than most small coupes and even some sedans.

On the plus side, it uses a dual-axis front suspension geometry, which Honda first debuted in the Civic Type R, so its handling should be quite good. There’s no doubt that Honda is using nostalgia and fuel economy figures to sell this car. Performance wasn’t the focus. Now, the only question is whether this approach will be successful in the long run.

New Prelude Hits 0-62 in 7.2 Seconds with Launch Control Trick, Yet Still Loses to the Civic

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