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Acura builds 345-horsepower RDX A-Spec for SEMA

The 2019 Acura RDX is great — a return to form for the sporty compact luxury crossover. So there's no real harm in giving one the SEMA treatment, especially since it entails a real motorsport tie-in and some legitimate performance parts. As for the giant graphics, well, it's SEMA after all. Graham Rahal races for Honda in the IndyCar series, and he also has his own performance parts company — named, sensibly enough, Graham Rahal Performance — which he started in 2017. They sell some private-label bits manufactured by other companies to their spec, some off-the-shelf parts, and they do tuning and installation work on customer cars. Acura gave the job of building the SEMA RDX to Rahal. There's a fair bit going on under the hood to get the RDX to 345 horsepower from the factory 272 ponies. The 2.0-liter turbo engine gets a bunch of enhancements. The turbo, intake, exhaust manifolds, downpipe, and cat-back (a GRP design) are all aftermarket. There's a customer intercooler, too. KTuning did the ECU with a custom map. On the handling front, the RDX wears Eibach springs, StopTech brakes, HRE wheels at 21 inches, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. The RDX started life as an A-Spec model in Apex Blue Pearl, and from there GRP applied carbon fiber garnish to the mirrors, grille accents, and lower fascia. Troy Lee Designs did the exterior graphics, and inside there's more carbon fiber and a custom steering wheel (courtesy of Max Papis's MPI Innovations shop). The RDX will be on the show floor if you'd like to check out the Rahal shop's handiwork. Related Video:

2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition Driveway Test | Shine bright like a ... ruby

Valencia Red Pearl. That’s the story with the 2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition. We got to see this limited edition TLX sedan at the New York Auto Show last year, but now itÂ’s in my driveway. The show lights donÂ’t do this paint justice. The setting sun reflecting off the deep and vibrant red ... now that's how this car is meant to be gazed upon. Like I mentioned in the video walkaround above, the TLX PMC Edition is hand-assembled at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio. The body-in-white is trundled across town to the NSX supercar factory where those technicians do the rest to make it road-worthy. All 360 of them are being wrapped in their own special car covers and delivered to dealers on an enclosed truck to make sure it arrives without a single exterior flaw. About that paint Valencia Red Pearl is a $6,000 paint option on the Acura NSX. On the TLX PMC, itÂ’s $0. The paint process itself is time consuming and intensive. Acura says the vibrancy and high-color saturation is thanks to nano pigment technology.  “Engineered using mica, metal flake and super-high transparency nano pigments, the paint is applied using PMC's advanced robotic paint system in multiple base coats to enhance color intensity. This is followed by two clear coats to increase the paint's luster,” AcuraÂ’s description reads. 2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition View 43 Photos The five-day process is well worth it. IÂ’ve tried my best to illustrate it through photos and video, but itÂ’s still not representative enough of this red paint. It has a depth and shimmer to it, as if the body panels were a swimming pool, awaiting a cannonball dive into the deep end. This car being an exclusive, special edition vehicle hasnÂ’t destroyed the value proposition either. In actuality, the TLX PMC is the one to buy if you want a fully-loaded TLX. Acura doesnÂ’t allow you to option the A-Spec and Advance packages together with the standard TLX, but both of those are included with the PMC Edition. If you were able to combine all those packages, the final price would ring up to $50,650. The final price on our test car is $50,945, including the $1,995 destination charge on the sticker. Basically, youÂ’re getting every option in the book at around list price, plus all of the special PMC Edition extras for next to nothing. Why yes, of course weÂ’ll have the PMC Edition. It drives just like the TLX A-Spec — check out our full review of that car here.

2021 Acura TLX Type-S to be powered by 355-horsepower V6

The 2021 Acura TLX Type-S is on track to deliver 355 horsepower, Honda's luxury subsidiary said Thursday, floating the power figure in an announcement that a prototype of its new sport sedan will serve as the pace car for the 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on August 30. The 3.0-liter V6 will also boast 354 pound-feet of torque, Acura said. These figures put it in the heart of the midsize performance sedan category, alongside the likes of the Cadillac CT5-V (360 horsepower) and Audi S4 (349 horsepower); BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti all offer more. The 2021 TLX sits on a new, stiffer platform and marks the return of a double-wishbone front suspension.  2021 Acura TLX to Make Racing Debut at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb "Racing is a key expression of Acura’s Precision Crafted Performance DNA. For the past nine years, Acura has utilized the grueling Pikes Peak hill climb as an opportunity to grow the skills of the companyÂ’s young engineers and as a test bed for future performance technologies in Acura production vehicles. The Acura Pikes Peak race team is comprised of a group of volunteer R&D engineers and is responsible for all aspects of the competition, including the development of vehicles, race prep, crew support and navigating race cars to the finish line," Acura's announcement said.  Acura will field two TLX race cars in the Exhibition class at Pikes Peak. Both will be powered by the base, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. Based on the company's announcement, it appears that one will be front-wheel drive and the other equipped with Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD), which is standard on the Type S. This engine makes 272 hp in street tune, but the race cars have received upgrades. The SH-AWD model boasts a larger turbocharger and intercooler for additional power, while the front-wheel-drive model received a milder tune and some suspension tweaks. A Time Attack NSX piloted by James Robinson will accompany the sedans. The Type-S will serve only as a pace vehicle, not a competitive entry.  Related Video: