Not many people are familiar with Honda’s Prelude nameplate. It only had a two-decade stint that lasted from 1978 to October 2001. But Honda aficionados have a different interpretation of this legendary sports coupe, and more so about the last variant – the 2001 Honda Prelude.
Thanks to its glorified VTEC powerplant, the Prelude sports coupe, like a motorcycle, dons a mischievous grin at the high end of the torque range. The result is a sudden gush reminiscent of a force-induced powerplant.
That Racing Channel recently featured a clean turbocharged 2001 Honda Prelude on its TRC invitational series. The unit, owned by Brazil Vieira, might feel docile but packs enough heat to humble a modern Mustang.
He’s owned this 2001 Honda Prelude for 13 years. He got it when he was 17 years, and behind the ownership is quite a captivating story.
“Got it when I was 17, second owner. I went through some mishaps, lost her, and my dad took over her for the remainder of the years. My dad passed away in 2016 and left it for me, and I made her what she is today,” Brazil confessed about the vehicle’s history.
The Prelude still runs on the original engine, built from the sleeves, pistons, cams, to the spring retainers. He also slapped a precision 6262 turbo for that extra kick. Unlike the SH variant, this one has a B16 transmission.
The 2001 Prelude came in two versions. The automatic and the SH model. While they were both powered by a 200-horsepower (203 ps) VTEC engine, the SH model had a manual gearbox and featured Honda’s Active Torque Transfer System. The automatic variant ran on a four-speed sequential sportshift automatic gearbox.
Brazil’s Prelude is an outlier running on a B16 transmission and a 1-of-5 unit developed by Honda.
“There’s only one-of-five in the United States. They do make the h2b transmission conversion kit for other bodies, but for the Prelude itself, it was a test run. They made five, and it was too much money to make compared to what they could profit from. So they discontinued it,” he explained about the Prelude’s transmission.
Unlike other Invitational series cars, Brazil didn’t participate in the drag event. He went for a few passes on the track and tagged TRC on board for a drive session.
We recommend watching the video below for the drive-along experience. There’s a bonus street pull of the Prelude owning a 2015 Mustang you wouldn’t want to miss.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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