2021 Acura Tlx Patent Images Show It Looks Much Like Type S Concept

2021 Acura TLX patent images show it looks much like Type S concept

Acura brought its Type S concept to last year's Monterey Car Week as a glimmer of what we could expect from the all-new TLX coming next year. Since then, we've had better glimpses of the sedan in unintended leaks, the first in Acura's own infotainment system, now in patent images from the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Discovered by French forum Worldscoop, the details in the grayscale drawings match the color image from the infotainment software, giving us another look at hotly anticipated sedan that will infuse much-needed excitement into Acura's lineup. Even though the images show rear bumper cutouts plenty large enough to house quad pipes, the patent is presumed to show the standard TLX trim, not the Type S trim we know is coming.

Even so, we can see plenty of Type S concept influence even with the less aggressive bodywork, such as the narrower upper grille and more pronounced lower grille, the garnish on the lower intakes, the side mirror design, and flared rear fenders. The rear end in the patent shows the same taillamps and decklid shutline, aero vents in the bumper, and the reshaped license plate holder moved from the trunk to the bumper. 

2020 Acura Tlx Pmc Edition Driveway Test | Video, Photos, Impressions

2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition Driveway Test | Video, photos, impressions

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 it's in my driveway. The show lights don'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.

2021 Acura Tlx Type S Getting Turbocharged 3.0-liter V6

2021 Acura TLX Type S getting turbocharged 3.0-liter V6

The second-generation TLX will inaugurate a turbocharged V6 engine developed specifically for the Acura brand, according to a recent report. The six will power a range-topping, performance-oriented variant of the sedan.

Honda's luxury division gave us a thinly-veiled preview of the next TLX when it introduced the Type S concept (pictured) at The Quail in 2019. While technical details were left out of the announcement, Car and Driver learned from sources familiar with the company's plans that the sedan will receive a new V6 whose displacement will likely check in at 3.0 liters. It will reportedly make over 300 horsepower thanks to at least one turbocharger.