L.A. Auto Show 2019: Acura PMC Models

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Acura is hand-building versions of popular models, assembled with care at their Performance Manufacturing Center.

We’re live at the L.A. Auto Show, which runs through Sunday, December 1. Honda and Acura have a ton of cool cars on display. Acura has a lot to show off this year. Their booth is hopping with the Type S concept, an NSX GT3 Evo race car, and two PMC models, the TLX and the MDX.

PMC stands for Performance Manufacturing Center, Honda’s 200,000 square foot production space for high-end, limited-run cars like the NSX. Located in Marysville, Ohio, it is the crown jewel of Honda’s manufacturing facilities.

Acura is building special, limited-edition MDX and TLX models as a way to show off what the PMC is capable of. The vehicles look much like their regular-production counterparts. However, they are effectively hand-built, bespoke Acura models, built to the same exacting standards of the NSX supercar.

While the cars are handbuilt, each one will be identical. Every PMC model will come with a 290 horsepower V6 and all-wheel drive. While Honda, and by extension Acura, is well-known for incredible build quality, PMC models are a cut above. Each car is assembled by hand, by the same technicians that lavish their attention upon the celebrated NSX.

While the cars are hand-built, each one will be identical. Every PMC model will come with a 290 horsepower V6 and all-wheel drive. All PMC models are painted Valencia Red Pearl, a color shared with the NSX.

Valencia Red Pearl is a high-end paint finish that uses nanopigments to make a deeper, more vibrant color than most metallics. Having seen them up close, we can confidently say that these may be the most beautiful MDX and TLX models ever. We’re pretty proud of our photos, but pictures just cannot do this color justice.

Pricing & Availability

The MDX PMC will debut early next year. The TLX PMC is available now. Acura will build just Just 360 TLX PMCs. Each one has an individually-numbered dash plaque.

Acura has priced the TLX PMC at around $50,000, making it by far the cheapest hand-built car available for sale now. While we don’t currently have details on the MDX PMC, we’re assuming a similar pricing structure and similar production numbers.

Photos by Michael S. Palmer for Honda-Tech

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Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.
When he's not busy working on his Harley-Davidson bike, the vastly experienced writer has covered an array of features, reviews, how-tos, op-eds and news stories for Internet Brands' Auto Group and is also a co-founder and co-host of the popular podcast Cammed & Tubbed.

Check him out on Instagram at: Camvanderhorst.

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