Last September we found out why the Volkswagen Arteon has yet to go on sale in the US: delays in the certification process caused by a backlog in meeting WLTP world emission testing. When we reached out to the automaker about an on-sale date, we were told a late fall/early winter arrival. Well, it's early winter right now and still no Arteon.

Meanwhile, over in Europe, there's now an even more powerful version of the gorgeous Arteon about to go on sale. The Arteon 2.0 TSI is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 268 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Zero to 62 mph happens in a claimed 5.6 seconds while top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph.

All-wheel drive is standard, as is an eight-speed automatic transmission. Fortunately, this is the same powerplant expected in the US. We were previously informed that front-wheel-drive will be standard fare while AWD will cost extra. Apparently that's not the case in Europe.

So, when will the Arteon finally go on sale here? We've reached out to VW for an update and we'll update this space when or if we receive a reply. As the successor to the now discontinued CC, the Arteon will (eventually) compete directly against the likes of the Kia Stinger and even lower trim version of the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4.

You could even go so far as to say the Arteon is something of a poor man's Porsche Panamera. Unfortunately, we haven't heard of any plans on VW's part for an even more powerful variant with a different engine, such as a six-cylinder option. That could theoretically put the Arteon on par with the Stinger GT AWD and its 365 hp and 376 lb-ft of torque. But one thing at a time. Let's just get the regular Arteon on sale first and then we'll begin asking for a GTI variant.