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Honda’s Greatest Comeback Car of the Decade Is Already Beating Subaru

The Prelude surprisingly outsold the BRZ during this year’s first quarter, but is it a valid metric for success?

Front side view of a white car with black alloy wheels and blue brake calipers against a concrete wall background.Honda
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By Chris Chin

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The Honda Prelude revival is off to a bit of a rocky start. Although many are excited about its return, especially for a company that’s always been conservative with its vehicle lineup diversity, many are also underwhelmed by its execution.

Despite the mixed reception and a sluggish takeoff, it is actually outselling one of its arch rivals. Honda and other automakers just published their quarterly sales reports.

And the Prelude is very visibly struggling to get off the ground. Depending on how you look at it, however, the Prelude ain’t doing too shabby (certainly not compared to other affordable Japanese sports cars).

The Prelude just outsold the Subaru BRZ

White Honda electric sports car driving on a road with dynamic light streaks above.
Despite all the hype, the Honda Prelude revival is off to a slow start.
Honda

According to the latest sales numbers, the Prelude is doing much better among its buyer demographic than the Subaru BRZ. Just comparing the numbers, Honda Americas reported moving about 357 Preludes in April, totaling 1,152 since the beginning of 2026.

On the flipside, Subaru only sold only 1,086 units to date since the beginning of the new year. In April alone, however, it sold 283 coupes, which is more than previous months.

These numbers are by no means groundbreaking. Heck, they even pale significantly compared to your more mainstream CR-V or Outback.

White Honda Prelude coupe with black wheels parked on a mountain road under a clear blue sky.
But depending on who you talk to or what metric you’re referencing, the Prelude is actually doing okay.
Honda

But that’s just the nature of any sort of sports car. Because they’re rather impractical and can only fit specific lifestyles, they’re not stellar sellers.

Most automakers know sports cars aren’t volume plays, so they anticipate these smaller numbers. What is surprising, however, is the fact that the Prelude outsold the BRZ, even despite all of its negative press and how it’s not selling as well as some hoped.

The BRZ could just be getting old

Dark blue Subaru sports car drifting on a runway with several parked airplanes in the background.
The Prelude outsold the BRZ this year to date, but there are reasons.
Subaru

With the Prelude arriving after a nearly two-decade hiatus, there’s obviously going to be some hype. It’s a car that has a strong cult following and fanbase.

For Honda to be even making a new one is a commendable move. Especially since nearly all of Japan’s automakers canned their iconic sports cars after the 2008 global financial crisis to focus on volume sellers and profit generators.

That revival hype could be the significant driver behind the Prelude outselling the BRZ. But the BRZ’s age could also be a factor, so it depends on how you look at the situation.

Blue Subaru BRZ sports car driving on a curved racetrack with dry grass on the sides under a clear blue sky. The car is shown from the rear three-quarter angle, highlighting its sleek design and dual exhausts.
Despite the BRZ being a fantastic machine that even we at GP Motoring love, it’s still starting to feel a bit long in the tooth.
Subaru

The current BRZ arrived in 2021 as a 2022 model-year car. So, at this point, it’s at least five years old, which is more than halfway through the average series production lifecycle of most cars.

Despite being a beacon for sports car enthusiasts, with its affordable entry point, low curb weight, rear-wheel-drive layout and manual transmission availability, it is getting long in the tooth for those who want something fresh.

Blue sports car driving on a road with a blurred green forest background, showing the car's side profile. The car has a sleek, aerodynamic design with tinted windows and silver alloy wheels.
The current BRZ turns five years old this year.
Subaru

And the Prelude gives Japanese sports car fans a fresh alternative to the norm, despite not being a rear-wheel-drive car and having a soul-sucking gas-electric hybrid powertrain and continuously variable transmission combination.

But there is one affordable Japanese sports car that killed both the Prelude and BRZ in sales. Could you take a gander at what it was?

Hint: it comes from Hiroshima.

Availability and pricing

The Honda Prelude launched in late 2025 and is currently available at your nearest Honda dealer. Pricing starts just north of $40,000.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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