Warhorse

From a production standpoint, the Excelsior Class is over thirty years old. First making an appearance in 1984's Star Trek III, it has become an integral part of the Trek lore. And is one of the most recognizable designs amongst fans. A long lived "Bucket of Bolts", it is either adored or despised due to its distinct departure from the classic lines of the Enterprise.

An interesting tidbit comes from one of its designers:
"When you're designing something you want to come up with a take on it that will drive the design. At the time I was really into Japanese design, so I thought, 'Ok, what would the Enterprise look like if the Japanese designed it?' That was the basis of what I came up with for the Excelsior."

By sheer coincidence, who was the NCC-2000's eventual commanding officer? Yep, Hikaru Sulu. And there's more too; if you squint your eyes, there's a bit of Sprinter Trueno and Fairlady Z in there too. Well, maybe not.

Excelsiors were last chronologically sighted in Voyager's finale, and that was in 2001. By then, the class had become an old warhorse in-universe. With a progressive looking refit with glowy nacelles, adopted during DS9's Dominion War arc.



Models by Wiley and 9of9