.. change::
    :tags: improvement, typing
    :tickets: 6980

    The :meth:`_sqltypes.TypeEngine.with_variant` method now returns a copy of
    the original :class:`_sqltypes.TypeEngine` object, rather than wrapping it
    inside the ``Variant`` class, which is effectively removed (the import
    symbol remains for backwards compatibility with code that may be testing
    for this symbol). While the previous approach maintained in-Python
    behaviors, maintaining the original type allows for clearer type checking
    and debugging.

    .. seealso::

        :ref:`change_6980`



