Acura took the wraps off its 2018 ARX-05 Daytona Prototype international Thursday night in Monterey, and with all the sharp edges and branding accents in place, the new Team Penske-run factory cars should bring a stylish new appeal to the DPi field next season.

Unveiled to the media one day ahead of its formal reveal at The Quail Lodge, Roger Penske, Honda Performance Development president Art St. Cyr, and key members of the Acura/Honda brand were on site to showcase the ORECA 07-based ARX-05.

“This has been a long process to get to here,” St. Cyr told RACER. “This is about the revitalization of Acura. It was a three-step process with the TLX-GT, the NSX GT3, and this is the culmination of that vision of how we’re going to get to where we want to go. You can see the car is very good looking; it looks fast sitting here.”

Click on the thumbnails below for larger images from the unveiling.

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According to Acura the car’s livery is close to what will be used next year, although some tweaks are expected. The NSX-inspired chevron that spans the front fenders has been nicknamed the “hockey stick” within HPD, and adds an unmistakable element to the machine.

The greatest visual differentiations between the ARX-05 (Acura Racing eXperimental, generation 5) and the ORECA 07 are found throughout the nose with the unique LED lighting and the choice to use black or bare carbon beneath the hockey stick to make the white bodywork above and around it stand out as if there was nothing below.

The use of fluorescent orange on the dive planes is a nice nod to the IMSA championship-winning Spice-Acura GTP-Lights cars raced in the 1990s by Comptech.

Click on the thumbnails below for more images of the ARX-05.

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The custom wheels will also look slightly different once the ARX-05 arrives in Daytona as the outer edges will have machined pockets added to reduce weight.

Beneath the engine cover, Acura’s proven 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 will provide ample horsepower and torque to mingle with the Cadillacs, Mazdas, and Nissans awaiting Team Penske’s two-car assault.

“The engine in the back is based on our J35 engine which has won Le Mans in its class, had an overall win at the 12 Hours of Sebring, overall win at Daytona, and even won its class going up Pikes Peak,” St. Cyr said. “We just can’t wait to get it on the track.”

With the unveiling ceremonies now complete, the No. 86 ARX-05 will head to Road Atlanta next week for its first test on American soil.