The superstar actor, of course, was in normal Leo mode trying to hide his face under a baseball cap ... only this time he came out of his shell and more than a bit.

TMZ obtained these photos of Leo sitting in the passenger seat of the black sports car parked on a crowded street for the world to gawk at. Usually, Leo stays far, far away from regular folks ... but, just look at him, right there in the thick of it on the Lower East Side.

We're told Leo was just chilling with his 2 buddies in the epic convertible with a front lid trunk. Our sources say 3 to 4 beautiful women sauntered up to Leo for a little chat before he and his pals rolled off into the sunset.

Unclear where they were headed ... but we're pretty sure wherever it was they had a really good time!