Honda Prologue electric SUV teased – co-developed with GM, based on Cadillac Lyriq; US debut in 2024

Honda has released the first teaser of its forthcoming electric SUV, the Prologue, nearly two years ahead of its slated debut in early 2024. The car will be the first tangible fruit of a collaboration with General Motors – which will also see the arrival of an Acura-badged sibling – as the carmaker attempts to make up for the time it lost deliberating over electric vehicles.

The Prologue will be the first Honda EV to be sold in North America (the e hatchback is only offered in Europe and Japan) and is said to be the first Honda designed primarily using virtual reality virtualisation. This approach was necessitated by remote work requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for designers in Los Angeles to collaborate virtually with Japanese design and development teams.

Shown in the sole sketch provided is a relatively clean design with strong shoulders, an upswept window line and prominent black body cladding. The black mask-like front end is said to be inspired by the Honda e and incorporates slim headlights with horizontal daytime running lights, while a trapezoidal air intake and vertical corner inlets can be found underneath.

Elsewhere, the charging port is located on the left front fender and the door mirrors mounted on the door body, the latter as they are on the new Civic and HR-V. Honda says it has paid particular attention to aerodynamics to reduce wind noise, particularly important given the silent powertrain.

Under the skin, the Prologue will be based on GM’s modular electric platform and Ultium battery technology, which also underpin the GMC Hummer EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV pick-ups and the Cadillac Lyriq SUV. No details were revealed but expect the car to share similar specs with the Lyriq, which should be broadly the same size as the Honda.

The Cadillac comes in two variants – a single-motor rear-wheel-drive version with 340 hp and 440 Nm of torque, as well as an all-wheel-drive model with twin motors and an estimated 500 hp. The 100 kWh lithium-ion battery delivers an EPA-estimated range of 502 km for the RWD model and can be charged with up to 190 kW of DC fast charging power, adding 112 km of range in just ten minutes.

The Prologue is a stopgap of sorts, paving the way for electric models based on Honda’s own e:Architecture (not to be confused with the Chinese-market e:N Architecture) that are set to go on sale in 2026. That’s not the end of the GM partnership, however, as duo plan to offer a range of “affordable” EVs based on a co-developed platform, due to arrive in 2027. Honda hopes to sell nearly 500,000 EVs in North America by 2030.

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