Honda · Prelude

Honda Prelude 1st generation (SN)

Years
1978–1982
Chassis
SN
Drivetrain
FF
Honda Prelude 1st generation (SN)

Image: Vauxford / CC BY-SA 4.0

Story

It appeared as an exclusive model of Verno stores when they were launched. It had an electric sunroof, a first for a car built in Japan, and sold well outside Japan.

Chassis

Front

Strut

Rear

Strut

Length 4,090 mmWB 2,320 mm1,290 mmHeightWidth 1,635 mm
Curb weight
890-915kg

US import eligibility

Earliest cars
Eligible since November 200325 years after sales began in November 1978
Last cars
Eligible since 200725 years after sales ended in 1982 (month not recorded)

Eligibility depends on each car's month of manufacture on its build plate, not on the sale dates shown here (NHTSA).

Japanese cars by US import year →

Engineers

Hiroshi Kizawa

Hiroshi Kizawa

Hometown: Okayama Prefecture

Development leader of the first-generation Civic and the first-generation Prelude. Former senior managing director of Honda R&D.

Shinya Iwakura

Shinya Iwakura

Hometown: Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture

A car designer who designed many Honda cars at Honda Motor Co. His representative works include the first- and second-generation Prelude, the first- and third-generation Civic, the first-generation CR-X and the first-generation Odyssey. He served as a managing director (in charge of products) of the company.