One of the best compact/tweener SUVs to drive, the Acura RDX stands out for its punchy engine, spacious and well-crafted interior, and strong value proposition. It’s also a huge seller for Honda’s luxury brand, and the tip of the spear of its return to form as a properly sporting marque. And so it makes sense that the 2021 Acura RDX would be the next in line, following in the tire marks of the larger MDX and the TLX sedan, to offer a special and limited PMC Edition model.
Just 360 copies of the RDX PMC Edition will be available, and the model is named after the automaker’s Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, the same facility that births the NSX supercar. We hope you like bright paint jobs, because each model is coated in eye-popping Thermal Orange Pearl, a special color introduced on the NSX last year. (Previous PMCs were Valencia Red.) The color’s application involves multiple base layers underneath a middle coat of gold and orange mica and four layers of clearcoat. Acura says each RDX spends five days in the paint process before being hand-assembled.
The special RDX combines the styling aesthetic of the A-Spec model with certain luxurious features of the Advance Package. The model’s 20-inch wheels, chrome exhaust finishers, roof, side mirrors, and door handles are all blacked out, while the black grille features a body-color surround; all of the forgoing is said to be exclusive to the PMC.
Inside, you’ll find the same orange and black theme. The leather seats feature microsuede inserts and orange stitching, the latter of which carries over to the steering wheel, center console, dashboard, and floor mats, too. Dark brushed-aluminum trim decorates the instrument panel, and additional standard goodies include a surround-view camera, head-up display, and front and rear heated seats from the Advance Package. Ventilated front seats are also part of the deal, as is a serial-numbered plaque on the center console.
Like other RDX models, the 2021 Acura RDX PMC Edition features a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 272 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque, although Acura’s Super-Handling AWD is standard on this variant. Acura hasn’t announced exact pricing details for the RDX PMC Edition, but says it will be available in the low-$50,000 range; non-PMC RDXes start at roughly $38,000 and rise to below $50K fully loaded. The first deliveries to customers will start in October, with each example being swaddled in a protective film and transported in an enclosed, single-car trailer.
