PWC: Acura prepares to farewell TLX GT

Acura's TLX sedan turned plenty of heads when it made its debut at the Mid-Ohio Pirelli World Challenge round in 2014, and with the beastly four-door sedan set to turns it final laps in favor of the new Acura NSX, the clock on its competitive life will wind down to zero on Sunday afternoon.

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Built by RealTime Racing and Honda Performance Development, the wild twin-turbo V6-powered TLX is the only car competing in the PWC GT class that comes from humble roots. Pitted against GT3 purebreds from Audi, Cadillac, Bentley, McLaren, and Porsche, among others, the commuter car on steroids has been a cherished addition to the GT ranks over the last three years.

Factory Acura driver Ryan Eversley has been the only pilot to race the TLX GT from start to finish, and with its pending retirement, he shared some thoughts about the car that launched his GT career.

"One of the thing I'm really proud about is this car was not bought; it was designed and built from scratch by RealTime with Honda Performance Development closely involved, and these are the only ones," Eversley told RACER. "They aren't mass produced, and I appreciate that – the little brackets, the piping, everything – was made by our team. That car helped me come on the scene as a GT pro, made me an actual contender."

With three wins to his credit so far in the TLX GT, Eversley (pictured celebrating victory at Road America) will miss the car once it is parked. On a more positive note, with the NSX being readied for next year's PWC GT assault with RealTime, more wins should be on the horizon.

"I am sad to see the TLX go because I've gotten so much out of driving it," he added. "You have to drive it really hard to get everything possible from it, and it has been a winner, also. It also helped me professionally because when (TLX and NSX program manager) Lee Niffenegger from HPD stuck his neck out for me to get the drive, and people were wondering if it was going to be a mistake, we've been able to go really far with this car and I know I've been very fortunate to have the chance to go really far with it."

Eversley and teammate Spencer Pumpelly will have one more chance to drive the TLX GT into Victory Lane, and regardless of how they fare in the 2016 season finale, he's become a fan of all those who've produced a winning product.

"Really, all you can do is thank everybody that have put so many hours into it, developed every little item we can think of, and continue to give 100 percent to winning even while we have a new car ready to replace the TLX," Eversley said.

"We've beaten cars that started out as supercars before they were made into GT3 cars, and we've done some cool things with the TLX to win in the rain, in the dry, with all-wheel drive, in two-wheel drive... I'm always going to look back at this car – this program – with a real fondness for what everyone made possible. It's cool as hell."