The Japanese manufacturer unveiled its new GT500-spec Honda Prelude at Sportsland SUGO on Tuesday ahead of its maiden test on Wednesday.

This year, Honda revived the Prelude moniker after more than two decades.

The introduction of the Prelude to Super GT brings to an end Honda’s brief experiment with its four-door Civic, which failed to match Toyota and its championship-winning GR Supra.

Introduced in 2024 to replace the NSX, the Civic’s tenure lasted just two seasons. It was the first of its kind in the GT500 era to utilise a four-door silhouette and marked a radical departure from the norm.

The Civic claimed one win in 2024 in the hands of Tomoki Nojiri and Nobuharu Matsushita, but remains winless in 2025 with two rounds remaining at Autopolis and Motegi.

“We believe the current Civic Type R-GT can be further improved for next year,” said Honda Racing Corporation’s Super GT project leader Masahiro Saeki.

“However, within the current regulations where all teams compete at an extremely high level, we see potential to achieve a higher level than the Civic Type R-GT by applying the knowledge gained over these past two years to the development of a Prelude-based Super GT machine.

“Furthermore, 2026 is the year when aerodynamic development becomes possible under the regulations.

“Missing this opportunity would mean waiting several more years for the development freeze to be lifted, which is why we decided to change the base vehicle at this time.

“The return of the coupe-bodied Prelude after so many years presents us with a new challenge and an opportunity.

“We also aim to deliver results in Super GT so that Honda can continue introducing such production cars in the future. Please look forward to our future performances.”

The Prelude will join the Toyota GR Supra and Nissan Nismo Z on the GT500 grid in 2026.

It’s expected that neither Toyota nor Nissan will introduce new models next year. However, an aerodynamic freeze will be lifted, allowing the manufacturers to modify their respective packages.