The new Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR has the seal of quality in its name: 40 years after the launch of the first Golf GTI,
the customer sports version also possesses the acronym that, since 1976, has been synonymous with the Wolfsburg-based car maker’s sporting character, powerful engines and maximum performance. Since it was first unveiled in July 2015, the Golf has been hugely popular on the racetracks of this world: all the customer sports models for the 2016 season had already been snapped up by mid-January. The teams can field the 20 cars, which were developed by Volkswagen Motorsport, in up to 16 national and international TCR touring car championships. The cars for the international TCR championship are to be handed over to the customer sports teams from 11th March in Abrera/Barcelona (E). An initial roll-out with the opposition is planned for the test drives at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia (E) from 14th March.
Powerful and efficient: turbo engine with direct fuel inject, generating 330 hp
A powerful straight four-cylinder engine, a sequential gearbox with shift paddles located on the steering wheel, a consistently developed racing chassis – the new Golf has been meticulously prepared for its outings on the racetracks of this world. Volkswagen Motorsport developed the car in cooperation with the sport department at SEAT. This made it possible to call on the extensive experience gained with the SEAT Leon Cup Racer. As with the Volkswagen Group’s production cars, the MQB platform also offers many synergies when it comes to racing cars, thus reducing the costs involved in assembling and running the touring car. The 2-litre turbo engine with direct fuel injection is the same one used in the top sporting model, the Golf R. The racing version generates 243 kW (330 hp) and produces 410 Nm of torque.
Production-based touring car to be delivered to teams mid-March, all 20 Golf GTI TCRs developed by Volkswagen Motorsport already taken
