Acura Put its Coolest NSX Paint on the TLX Type S PMC Edition

Photo: Acura

Back when Acura first rolled out the current-generation TLX, the car stood out for two main reasons: Sharp looks, and a fantastic stereo. Then the company brought us the TLX Type S, with its turbocharged V6 pushing 355 horsepower through all four wheels. Next, the TLX Type S PMC Edition — the same car, but meticulously hand-built alongside the NSX in Acura’s Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio.

But with a luxury sedan, a performance version, and a brightly-colored hand-built limited-run edition all on the market, where could the TLX go next? Well, it seems Acura’s plan is to borrow something from the NSX: Its Gotham Gray paint.

Photo: Acura

I’ve gone on the record time and time again to complain about gray paint on cars. Nardo Gray is my enemy, my nemesis, the cool-turned-overdone color that I cannot leave my apartment without being forced to confront. But with Gotham, Acura’s done something different from the matte-paint-under-high-gloss-clear trend — it’s done away with the gloss entirely.

Of course, Acura will tell you Gotham Gray is a matte color, and — like nearly all automakers making that claim — the company is wrong. Matte colors look bad on cars; they show off panel gaps while hiding interesting body lines. Instead, Gotham is a satin finish, still lightly reflective under harsh light. Satin finishes, unlike matte, are fantastic.

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But few people will get to experience that fantastic paint. The TLX Type S PMC Edition is limited to just 50 vehicles for 2023, all of which will be done up in Gotham Gray. Only 50 people will get their hands on the most elevated TLX, swaddled in a finish previously reserved only for the NSX. You can ogle, drool, or pine after it all you want — just don’t count on getting one.