SPIED: Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR at Nürburgring

It hasn’t really been long since the Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI was revealed, but already Wolfsburg is lining up some tasty special editions of the hot hatch. Our European spy photographers went to the Nürburgring and managed to snag images of the TCR, which was clearly popular enough in Mk7.5 form to warrant a second generation.

This car may at first glance look similar to the standard GTI, but there are a few detail changes on the outside. While the regular model wears the same front bumper as the R-Line version of the cooking Golf, the TCR gets a more aggressive design with “fangs” on the bottom edge of the full-width air intake, although some masking continues to obscure its true look. It also ditches the GTI’s X-shaped fog lights.

Also different is the bigger rear spoiler and the rear bumper insert with a diffuser-like slatted design, surrounding a larger pair of tail pipes. On top of that, the development mule is wearing the Mk7.5 Golf R‘s 19-inch Pretoria alloy wheels, which hide larger brakes and cross-drilled front discs.

Expect the TCR to come with the same powertrain as the previous model, itself an uprated version of the GTI’s 2.0 litre TSI turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Our spies suggest a modest 10 PS increase to a round 300 PS, which should be enough to give rivals like the Honda Civic Type R a run for their money. As before, power should be sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission.

Whether the TCR moniker will continue to be used is still up in the air, as Volkswagen has ended factory participation in the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR), which uses the TCR race cars that lent their name to the top GTI. Perhaps the company could resurrect the Clubsport label with this car.

The post SPIED: Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR at Nürburgring appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.



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