Does Honda need an MX-5 rival?

Off the back of our own Shooting Brake render going live in May, revered digital creator Theottle has mocked up their impression of what a Honda Prelude would look like as a soft-top roadster. The short answer is: lovely.

The world has been screaming for an S2000 successor for decades now and this could be about as close as we get to such a thing, albeit prettier and front-drive.

An MG Cyberster was used as the convertible template for the Prelude Cabrio and we’re all for it, because the end result, just like our rendered Shooting Brake, is a gorgeous sports car that would undoubtedly generate additional sales for Honda and provide a credible rival for the Mazda MX-5.

That said, it wouldn’t be a direct competitor seeing as the soft-top Prelude would be a hybrid (obviously), front-wheel drive, significantly heavier, auto-only and undoubtedly more expensive.

Still, not everyone wants a compact little buzz box that’d hard to fit in (if you’re tall) and far from the last word in refinement, so the prospect of a more mature and rounded two-door roadster actually starts to make sense – probably more sense than the three-door Shooting Brake, even if the three-door would be prettier and more practical.

The open-top Honda would also prove more versatile and likely appeal to a more mature audience thanks to its adaptive dampers, hybrid powertrain and of course its higher asking price.

Such a car would undoubtedly start around or even north of $70,000 drive-away, but given there’s no direct rivals, a lot like the coupe, it would get away with it and likely sell well.

Honda was adamant there isn’t a hotter (turbo-petrol) Prelude in the pipeline, primarily due to development costs and project goals, so there’s next to no chance we’ll see a convertible version, but there’s nothing stopping us from wishing.

* Images generated by AI

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