2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition gives sports sedan the NSX treatment

Acura has asked the NSX supercar to share its high-tech US production facility, with a highly limited-edition run of 2020 TLX PMC Edition sports sedans set to roll off the line. Making its debut at the New York auto show next week, it'll be a hand-crafted version of the regular TLX, and the start of a new series of PMC Edition cars.

Just 360 of the 2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition cars will be produced, all of them made at the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio. It's the location where Acura builds the NSX, and indeed it will be the same technicians – cherry-picked from the rank & file of production line workers for their talents with the cars – who are responsible for these very special TLX versions.

Acura will deliver the body-in-white from the main TLX production facility, its Marysville Auto Plant, to the PMC. It's then finished in Valencia Red Pearl, the lustrous paint until now only available on the NSX. It uses a combination of mica, metal flake, and super-high transparency nano pigments, and then topped by two clear coats for maximum luster. Acura says the whole process takes five days, including a hand inspection.

After that comes the drivetrain and chassis components, the wiring harnesses, and the electronics. The TLX PMC Edition will get the i-VTEC V6 engine and Acura Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) as standard, as you'd expect, along with both the exterior and interior design features of the A-Spec, plus the TLX Advance Package features.

Unique gloss black 19-inch split-5-spoke wheels are added, to match the gloss black roof panel, door handles, and diamond pentagon grille. Dual 4-inch black chrome exhaust finishers are standard, too. The A-Spec's Jewel-Eye LED headlamps and fog lights are included, and there's body-colored side mirror housings.

Inside, there's heated and ventilated front seats, and heated rear seats, with black Milano leather and Alcantara inserts, plus contrasting red stitching. The same finish appears on the steering wheel, and there's also stitching on the door panels, center console, and armrest. The Acura ELS Studio 10-speaker audio system – with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support – is standard, as is AcuraWatch, blind spot notifications, rear cross traffic monitor, and the surround view camera system. A wireless charging pad is added for your phone.

Just so you're reminded how special you are – or at least how special your car is – there'll be a numbered plaque for the dashboard, showing which of the 360 TLX PMC Edition cars you have. After assembly, the NSX team will run the sedan through the same quality checks that the supercar endures, before wrapping it in a specially-designed car cover. That safe little bundle gets packed into an enclosed car carrier, and sent off to the dealer.

Acura expects the 2020 TLX PMC Edition to be priced at around $50,000, when it goes on sale this summer. If you're not in the market for a sedan, but do like the sound of a very limited-edition Acura, the good news is that this will just be the first of the PMC Edition cars. Next up will be an MDX PMC Edition, giving the automaker's best-selling SUV the NSX treatment.