We're now able to confirm (yes, confirm!) it's legit! Takara Tomy is indeed making a Masterpiece Hot Rod and K-Hobby's Twitter feed is the first to show us the new proto in it's infancy.
As you can tell, this is still quite early in the process, but it at least gives you a good idea of what's coming and what we should be able to expect. Fantastic news for all of us!
You can compare MP-09 Rodimus Convoy to this new Hot Rod mold by checking out the 2010 release of Rodimus in our galleries by clicking here and here.

UPDATE: Thanks to fellow Seibertron news staffer, LOST Cybertronian, we've found new images courtesy of the hobbylog.jp blog and you can see them below:



Keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates, plus the best galleries around!