For at least the last decade Acura hasn’t really known what it wants to be. It has traded away much of its sporty reputation for luxury crossover sales. It dabbled in performance hybrids to support its NSX supercar, but many of those have since been dropped. Acura lost its heritage, walked away from a history of delightful sports cars, coupes, and sedans, and muddled its signature. In recent years, the company has taken great strides to reviving its specialness. The TLX Type-S is the next step in that process. Advertisement ( Full Disclosure: Acura invited me to foggy Carmel, California to test drive its new big-power all-wheel drive sports sedan TLX Type-S. I paid for my travel, riding a motorcycle to the event rather than flying. Acura handed me the keys to a new Type-S for a road drive in the morning and a lead-follow session with pro racer Ryan Eversley on track at Laguna Seca. I was also given a posh hotel room, excellent food, and delicious wine.)