Honda is bringing back the Prelude, a car that has been around for a long time. If you like fast cars, this Type SH will make you smile with its 2.2-liter VTEC four-cylinder engine that loves to rev. This model from the last generation looks great with its sleek silver and black body and lots of useful features. The sixth version of the Prelude is about to come out. This has always been Honda’s chance to show off a little. People were told that the Prelude was a fun and fast coupe that was still useful but different from the Accord and Civic. Not like the S2000 or Integra Type R, it wasn’t a high-performance car with screaming RPMs. This has all the elements of a great modern classic. Take a look at this 2001 Honda Prelude Type SH that was shared on Bring a Trailer, which is part of Hearst Autos along with Invoice Pricing. There are all the basics, like a strong four-cylinder engine with VTEC technology, a five-speed manual gearbox that lets you choose gears on your own, a business-oriented cabin without screens, and nice features like air conditioning and a CD player. The best thing about it is that it’s a Type SH model, which is the best grade offered and has the best handling Preludes that have ever been made for the US market. We tested six cars during the 1997 model year and found that the Prelude Type SH was the best-handling car under $30,000. It did better than well-known cars like the Mazda Miata and the E36 BMW 3-Series. It was less about timed votes and more about how sophisticated and well-done everything was. The fifth-generation Prelude shows that Honda is very good at what it does. It was an old Honda from the good old days. The chassis was much stiffer than the previous version of the Prelude. The suspension used control arms, and the Type SH had a rack-and-pinion steering system with a much faster rack. The engine was a 2.2-liter four-cylinder that made 200 horsepower at 7000 rpm. This was more than enough energy for daily driving. The new Civic Si needs to stop at 6600 rpm, but the four-cylinder Prelude can rev all the way past its redline of 7400 rpm to an 8000 rpm fuel cut. When the engine speed reaches 5250 rpm, Honda’s famous variable Valve Timing and Electronic Control (VTEC) starts to work. This makes it feel faster than it really is. Part of what makes driving a Prelude unique is the short burst of speed you get when you hit the redline. But it’s also how the car works as a whole, with each part fine-tuned to fit together perfectly. It’s not unfair to call the mid-engine Acura a “poor man’s NSX,” but it’s not nearly as useful as this classic car. The main problem is that not many older, more fuel-efficient Honda car Preludes have been around for the last twenty years. This car needs to be older to be considered a classic, and giving it a VTEC performance when tiny performance cars were all the rage because of the Fast and Furious movies wasn’t a surefire way to go. It’s only possible to find a Prelude that has been changed. It’s great news that this car only has 47K miles on it. The Carfax report shows that there was no crash damage, even though it has had some repainting done. The silver-on-black color scheme is classic and will last for a long time for the brand. In 2001, it will be easy to keep up the look of having just rolled off a lot. Because Honda won’t say what kind of engine the new Prelude will have, don’t expect the Civic Type-R to have two doors. The new car might not need a hybrid engine; it could have a 1.5-liter turbocharged Civic Si instead. Even though the new Prelude is a great car, it has big shoes to fill. Instead, you could buy a Prelude from a time when almost every Honda was great. The Prelude should already be a collector’s item by now. August 13 is the end for the auction.
