2010 Acura NSX Finally Revealed?

It appears that Auto Express may have beaten every Western auto news outlet to the punch by publishing these two photos of what they say is the all-new Acura NSX.

We noticed similar images popping up in the pages of Japanese car magazine Holiday Auto (which you can see over at 7Tune), but we'd dismissed those as just being speculative renderings commissioned by that publication. However, Auto Express' use of those images has now thrown that theory into doubt and it now seems likely that these pictures are instead official Honda press photos of the real deal.

So, what do we make of it? For starters, it looks like Honda got the styling of the rear end spot-on, with the combination of that full-width light cluster and those rectangular quad tailpipes imparting a very futuristic look to the NSX's tail. It's a different story on the front though, with the NSX sporting a rather narrow-eyed appearance thanks to those oddly shaped headlights. The thin slashes in the NSX's grille also look a tad out of place and appear to be a concession to engine cooling rather than a harmonious design element.

Don't get me wrong though, for there's still plenty of things I like about the NSX's new clothes. For instance, I totally dig those L-shaped running lights embedded in the front bumper, that sharply-creased rear wheelarch turns me on and I particularly fancy those 7-spoked wheels, but the 'face' of the new NSX just leaves me cold. It's far from ugly mind you, but remember that this is meant to be Honda's first true supercar and one that's intended to compete on every level with the best Europe has to offer. From what we can see here, it seems the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini have little to worry about on the aesthetic front.

While it appears almost certain that these pics represent the final design of the NSX, we're still going to take them with a grain of salt. There are a few discrepancies between this car and recent images of an NSX test mule that suggest we've yet to see the showroom-ready finished product, but for the most part it appears that Auto Express may be on the money with this one.

Do you think Honda's got it right with this design? Voice your 'yay' or neigh your 'nay' in the comments below.

[Auto Express]