I am pretty sure that Optima Nova is it.

has anything been done recently?

Jeez I hope not (although I do admire the bravado of improving the "a").

hhp

… I would prefer the newest version …

Why?
Optima is a beautiful classic typeface; Optima Nova is a business decision.

So the original Optima wasn't a business decision? And a really old one?

hhp

Hrant: Have you considered adding a disclaimer stating that you loathe calligraphic (or “chirographic”) influence in type design for personal reasons along with your advice? You know, someone might not agree with you. At the very least, they should know why you think it is a bad idea.

Here is a list of Optima Alternatives from Fontshop, btw.

I was going to set up a site called hhpov.com and link to it all the time, but then some tasteless musicians grabbed it.

BTW there's also the wonderful Pascal, but only the display cut has been digitized so far.

hhp

Another Optima alternative that a really like is Mentor Sans, particularly the bold. Where Optima has a wonderful classical stateliness and elegance, Mentor Sans has a briskness and vigor and strength that is wonderful in its own distinctive way. By contrast, to me most Optima variants look like they're trying to be Optima and failing.

By the way I like both the old and new versions of Optima by Zapf, except for the condensed, which to me is a betrayal of the concept, with the wide, elegant classical arches.

Optima Nova is a business decision.

New weights and features were necessary for today’s font usage, but it seems to me that redesigning key glyphs such as /a and /c and making a “proper” italic were done to provide a clearly visible difference to potential purchasers, despite the fact that the original design is best.

I think the new "a" is better (the new "c" is almost the same) which is a gutsy, non-business move because I believe they probably lost customers to it, and they knew that would happen.

hhp

Hey: everyone makes mistakes. The fact that Hermann Zapf—himself, I presume, but perhaps not—decided to correct a stylistic peccadillo speaks to the character of the man…IMHO.

And don't discount Kobayashi's role - he's the best thing Linotype has got.

Related: http://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/palatino-sans/

hhp

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