2008 wasn’t that long ago, but it sure feels like it. In 2008, you could get away with wearing flare jeans, everyone was Heath Ledger’s Joker for Halloween and automakers were still happy to stick V10s in their cars. Remember how the almost had a V10? sure does.

In 2008, we that proclaimed the long-awaited NSX was coming back—and with a rumored V10 in its nose to boot. Obviously, that didn’t wind up happening, as Acura scrapped plans for the V10 because the economy was bad, delayed things by a bunch of years and we finally wound up with the hybrid V6 instead.

But just think for a second how glorious that would have been. A modern, V10 supercar that hailed from somewhere other than Europe, with all of the (hopeful) reliability and comfort from the Honda and Acura family. It would have been a proper Nissan GT-R competitor for sure.

This new Best Motoring video shows footage from 2008 of the NSX mule while it had 10 cylinders screaming around the Nürburgring. Judging from the speed of the shifts, it sounds like it doesn’t even have a dual-clutch transmission. Best Motor notes that it would have had 600 PS (592 horsepower).

Anyway, the car that we have currently is good. Very good. But... it still could have had a V10.