It's fast, has a wealth of technology on board, and is extremely fun to drive.

For those who like fast cars to also look flashy, the Prelude falls a bit short. For drivers who prefer more of a stealth approach, the sheet metal on the 1997 Prelude may fit the bill.

Honda, a company whose name is synonymous with reliability, value and economy, is also a manufacturer known for performance.

In the late 1980s, Honda's Formula 1 team dominated the Grand Prix circuit, winning multiple championships. They quit on top after their annual investment was rumored to be $100 million.

Last year, Honda came out on top in the Indy car circuit, where the investment is considerably less but still runs into the tens of millions of dollars.

The experience Honda gets from these racing activities does have an impact on its road cars, most notably the exotic Acura NSX but also more affordable vehicles such as the Prelude, Accord and Civic.

Among the racing-linked improvements -- and the heart of the Prelude's appeal -- the VTEC valve timing system is the most significant.

VTEC -- a loose acronym for variable valve timing and lift electronic control -- allows an engine to have several different personalities.

Traditionally, engine designers have had two often conflicting choices in how power is developed.

For good low-speed throttle response, particularly with an automatic transmission, an engine needs to develop a lot of torque starting at about 1,200 rpm and peak at less than 3,000 rpm. That sometimes means an engine runs out of steam at the upper rpm range, which can be critical in highway passing maneuvers.

To get good high-end response, low-speed maneuverability sometimes suffers.

All of this is dictated by when -- and for how much and how long -- the intake and exhaust valves in each cylinder open. In traditional engines, all of those variables were set by the shape of the camshaft and could not change.

Honda developed a system in which, at higher engine speeds, new lobes on the camshaft come into play and change how the valves operate.

The result is an engine that has good low-end performance and good high-speed response.

In the Prelude, the VTEC system produces 195 horsepower (190 coupled to an automatic transmission) from a double overhead camshaft 2.2-liter four. The four revs quite freely to 7,000 rpm, and doesn't lack for power at any point along the way.

The glorious sound that a high-reving 16-valve engine makes is an added bonus.

Transmission choices on the Prelude are a five-speed manual and a four-speed automatic with a sequential manual shift mode similar to the semi-automatic gearboxes used in Formula 1.

The Sequential SportShift operates much like a motorcycle gearbox. Move the floor-mounted lever to the sport-shift gate, and then any gear can be selected by moving the stick forward or backward.

Changes are quick, and the gearbox will not shift up automatically. More than once the electronic rev limiter kicked in while the gearbox was in first. The 7,000 rpm comes up very fast in first gear, and an inattentive driver will be caught out. Fortunately, the rev limiter prevents any engine damage.

On downshifts, the gearbox will automatically revert to first or second gear when slowing to a stop to prevent the engine from dying.

All this upshifting and downshifting is great fun, and when stuck in stop-and-go traffic a driver can just select D and forget about it.

Although the semi-automatic gearbox was pioneered by Porsche, Honda's version is nearly as good as it gets. And if you're a purist, there's always the five-speed manual.

With all that power on tap, the front-wheel-drive Prelude is a sharp handling car, displaying none of the vices associated with high-horsepower front-drivers.

Cornering is flat and smooth, and the lateral adhesion is quite high. What that means is there's not a freeway off-ramp the Prelude can't handle.

If there is a quibble with the Prelude it is in two areas: Styling and price.

When Honda announced that the Prelude would be redesigned for 1997, there were hopes that the 2+2 coupe would get some exotic bodywork. Honda opted instead for an attractive, but understated design.

So on the street, new Preludes seldom get more than passing glances.

For drivers who want to stay out of the glare of cruising police cars, that's a blessing. For buyers looking for something that screams ``special,'' the Prelude likely won't do.

At the Prelude's price range -- it's base sticker is $24,000 -- buyers looking for a lot of flash have other choices.

It also could be argued that $24,000 is a lot to pay for a four-cylinder sports coupe.

But that overlooks this reality: There is not another car on the market that offers this much race-bred technology for under $25,000.