Acura TLX Type S PMC Asks $3,000 for Gray Paint
When the world learned that Acura was going to bring back the Type S moniker, a subset of enthusiasts who remembered models wearing the performance badge were readying their applause. While the TLX Type S deserves some amount of praise, the limited edition PMC models are difficult to rationalize unless you’re buying one under the assumption that it’ll appreciate in value parked in your garage. But it just keeps getting more ridiculous with Acura now offering Gotham Gray paint as a $3,000 option.
For those of you who don’t follow such things, the PMC Edition is mechanically identical to the standard TLX Type S and utilizes the same 355-hp twin-turbo V6. But it costs $63,995, representing a $7,550 premium. In exchange, customers receive the same paint that goes on the NSX (Curva Red, 130R White, or Long Beach Blue), a handful of visual accouterments (e.g. copper wheels, black accenting), a smattering of carbon fiber, Pirelli P-Zero summer tires, and the knowledge that it was assembled by hand at Acura’s Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio.
That’s a lot of dough to spend on a vehicle that’s not all that different from the standard performance variant. But it opens the door to hardware that makes the car more unique and should offer some very modest performance advantages. You also have some assurance that you’ve purchased what will presumably be an extremely rare trim – as the manufacturer wants to limit production to 100 units of each color for 2023.
However, news just dropped that Acura also plans on building 50 examples of the TLX Type S PMC boasting the NSX’s matte Gotham Gray paint. The vehicle costs $66,995, meaning it’s priced $3,000 higher than the other PMC Editions.
Ludicrously expensive paint options certainly aren’t unheard of. BMW and Mercedes-Benz have previously launched hues priced to compete with small hatchbacks from less glitzy brands. But Acura always seemed to have one foot planted in reality, offering performance vehicles that did more with less and carrying price tags that reflected this. Even the second-generation NSX represented a relative performance bargain amongst rear or mid-engined vehicles until the C8 Chevrolet Corvette undercut its MSRP by around $100,000 and the 992 Series Porsche 911 turned out to be a better all-around sports car when similarly priced.
While Gotham Gray is a fairly unique color, it’s hard to imagine it’ll be worth the $3,000 investment until the car is sold at auction decades down the line. What you’re paying for here is the exclusivity of owning a vehicle that’s been hand built in limited volumes. If that’s something you’re interested in, then you’ll probably want to act quickly because the white version of the TLX Type S PMC is reportedly sold out already. Red is likely to be next with orders on blue models not being opened up until December.
[Images: Acura]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
More by Matt Posky
Comments
Join the conversation
Actually, my 2005 Jeep Liberty's Pearl Green paint cost 2,200 dollars extra. It's 4 wheel drive and V-6 engine cost another 2,400 dollars. If you want it bad enough, you'll pay it.
Matte Gray? Like the primer we’d spray on whatever crapbox we were going to blow up on its second pass back in the 90’s? If you are going to charge this kind of money though I want the green Baruth had Audi paint his car. Not some mass produced color that I’ll see on a Civic in a few years