I found a fanmade trailer on youtube (which for the most part is pretty meh), but shows a ship in drydock looking like a near perfect evolution and refit of the older Sovereign class.
It retains all the design choices that made the Sovereign a Sovereign and still looks more advanced and way cooler than what we recently got in game (sorry jamjamz, but why couldn't you make it look similar to this?

)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=acJDPsf3TDE
Comments
I find the Regent class a bit meh too so I kitbashed some Imperial class parts on it to make it look bulkier, as an assault role ship would. I picked on the Regent the moment it appeared on Dev Blogs because it was blocky and flat at the same time, with none of the swooping complex curves that made the Odyssey class attractive.
EDIT
This is the corrected link, which works when clicked on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=acJDPsf3TDE
Game looks like it's from 2008, pretty decent FX and physics model (check out the photon impact hit feedback!)
Skip to 1:23 to see the Sovereign-R in drydock.
My Youtube Channel
wanted to use just the sov hull but do to how "short" the sov model is it caused the nacelles to crash into the back of the saucer with the regent pylons
I think it looks very close to what a class between the Sovereign and the Odyssey would look like.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8585/screenshot2012081900061.jpg
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/9034/screenshot2012081900054.jpg
[Unrepentant] Lapo@overlapo: the problem with space STF
is that you can't properly teabag your defeated opponent
Unrepentant: Home of the Rainbow Warrior and the Rainbow Brigade.
The Regent is a different ship. Deal with it.
I'm intending to do as you say - use the Sovereign skin. The refit is underwhelming on other grounds and its look is of least concern. I may however moan about the Odyssey which is stuck with one skin only if you wish.