- A Northern Ireland Honda dealer shared a photo that went viral.
- It showed a customer trading in an S2000 for a new Prelude.
- The post was taken down likely due to negative comments.
The return of the Honda Prelude was always going to be a polarizing event for the brand’s faithful, but a recent customer handover at a Northern Ireland dealership sparked a social media firestorm, forcing the post to be deleted. The reason for all the backslash is that the customer traded in a highly-desirable Honda S2000 roadster in order to buy the new coupe.
Everything started with a celebratory photo of a handover shared by Donnelly Group Honda on Facebook. In the shot, we can see the new Prelude parked next to a facelifted example of the S2000, while the happy customer shakes hands with a dealer employee.
The caption read: “Out with the old and in with the new for Mr … 🤩 He is replacing his S2000 with a Honda Prelude in Racing Blue. After driving one of Honda’s most iconic performance cars, it is great to see him stay with the brand for his next chapter”.
The photo from the now-deleted Facebook post by Donnelly Group Honda.
The post didn’t stay up for long, but it still managed to attract hundreds of reactions. The majority of Facebook users in the comments section were negative about the swap, slamming the customer’s decision to trade a high-revving, rear-wheel-drive roadster for a front-wheel drive hybrid coupe.
More: Mugen Made The Honda Prelude Sharper, Louder, And Nearly Impossible To Buy
One said that the buyer would instantly regret the trade, jokingly suggesting he’d end up on S2000 forums trying to buy his old car back. Another one turned the attention to the dealership, speculating that the S2000 was likely snapped up by an employee before it could even be processed for the used car lot.
All of this unwanted attention is what likely prompted the dealership to delete the post entirely, and we barely managed to take a screenshot before it was taken down.
The new Prelude has little in common with the long-discontinued S2000 other that having Honda emblems and the same displacement.
More: Designers Are Doing What Honda Won’t With The S2000
The FWD Civic-based coupe is fitted with a self-charging hybrid powertrain generating a combined 181 hp and offering simulated gear changes. On the other hand, the RWD roadster is powered by a naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter engine producing 237 hp, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.
In any case, this particular Prelude isn’t the first Racing Blue example sold in Northern Ireland. The same dealer shared a photo of a female customer who recently purchased a nearly identical example. Interestingly, this Prelude buyer also had a history with Honda, having owned the original Prelude in the past.
