Is this what the all-new Honda Hornet will look like?

After causing a stir with the teasing of a brand-new mid-size motorcycle at EICMA, a first look at the Honda CB750 Hornet has emerged in a brand-new and convincing rendering.

Though Honda stopped short of giving much away beyond a CGI silhouette when it was shown to the media at EICMA, Japanese authority Autoby - which has a good record of predicting the look of forthcoming models from the ‘Big Four’ - has published what it believes will be finished look of the Triumph Trident and Yamaha MT-07 rival.

Set to go by the official name of “CB 750 S”, the model revives a nameplate last seen in Europe on the CB600F Hornet, though the new model is expected to have more in common stylistically with a 250cc version currently sold in the Indian market.

Though it will overlap a similar market space with the four-cylinder CB600R, the Hornet will be a twin-cylinder model and, though the render from Autoby is unmistakably Honda, sheds the ‘neo-cafe’ appearance of the well established ‘R’.

Instead, the Hornet according to these renders, will be a more lithe design with a single-piece sharp headlight and tapered up-sweeping front-fairing.

Indeed, the waspish name is no coincidence with the flicked up muffler and extra-thick tyres designed to mimic the small but aggressive animal.

Under the skin, the 755cc engine is expected to be all-new and form the basis of a fresh line of 750 Hondas. Indeed, though Honda does have a 750 engine as used in the NC750 series, patent documents reveal a different configuration to that model, indicating a thorough update.

It is anticipated the engine will also find its way into the much rumoured, but as-yet-unseen Transalp, a ‘baby Africa Twin’ that will set its sights firmly on the Yamaha Tenere 700 and Aprilia Tuareg 660.

With this in mind, there is a strong consideration for the Hornet to develop into a fully-faired CBR750 sportsbike to rival the Yamaha R7, or potentially a CBR750R(R) to revive its hopes on the track in the Supersport class it dominated between 2002 and 2014.

[Images credit Autoby]