It’s Friday, which means we’re rounding out the week by obsessing over sales listings and car auctions. It’s a good time to be looking, if only from a distance, because there are cars like this 1999 Honda Prelude Type-SH just waiting for us to take them home.
We hear it all the time, but this is likely one of the cleanest remaining fifth-generation Preludes around today. No modifications have been performed, which alone makes this car rare, but the mileage takes the exclusivity a step further. With just 28,700 miles on the clock, this Prelude is nearly new.
The Prelude’s 2.2-liter inline-four made 200 horsepower and 156 pound-feet of torque when new, and this one’s mileage is low enough that those numbers are likely still close to accurate. A five-speed manual is on board here, and despite the fact that the car is front-wheel drive, Honda made numerous upgrades to the car that gave it sharp handling.
Manual transmission and patterned cloth seats. Does it get much better?Cars and Bids
The Prelude Type-SH was better than its standard counterpart in nearly every measurable way. It rode on 16-inch alloy wheels and lowered suspension that set it an inch lower than the normal car. It also features an active torque transfer system, which could transfer as much as 80 percent of drive power to the outside wheel during cornering. Independent front and rear suspension rounded out the package to make the Prelude Type-SH a quick and nimble front-drive car.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the nostalgia of these cars. After all, for many of us they bring back fond memories of our school years, when cars like the Prelude were new and unobtainable by most young drivers. Even so, it’s important to remember that a 20-plus-year-old Honda won’t provide a modern driving experience and won’t be as sharp as you probably think it will. That’s not enough to stop many people (us included) from wanting one, but it’s worth noting.
The Type SH features many upgrades over the standard Prelude.Cars and Bids
