THE HOTTEST GTI

Golf GTI TCR race car shares its genes with the road-going car

THE HOTTEST GTI MIGHT NOT BE ROAD LEGAL but anybody can buy it. Customer sport is now the strong focus area for Volkswagen Motorsport and the Golf GTI TCR is eligible for sixteen TCR touring car championships worldwide (not India), which feature production-based racers built to strict regulations.

The regulations are a cost-effective alternative to existing touring car series. Competing vehicles must be based on a four- or five-door shell, have a minimum weight of 1250kg if the production gearbox is retained (1280kg with a racing ’box and both options are offered by VW Motorsport), develop around 335bhp and have regulated aerodynamics.

The GTI TCR is instantly recognisable as a Golf though the bodywork is 40cm wider while the tailgate sprouts an enormous rear wing. There’s a deep front splitter too, and safety modifications such as a roll cage, full racing seat and FIA-approved fual tank. Wheels are 18-inches in diameter and the suspension layout largely follows that of the road car – McPherson struts at the front and multi-link at the rear. The electric power steering features both modified software and hardware.

The Golf GTI TCR is built by SEAT in Spain and shares the underpinnings with the SEAT Leon Cup Racer and Audi’s RS3 racer. All cars use a tuned version of the GTI’s EA888 engine developing 335bhp and 420Nm of torque, with all the power sent to the front wheels. And like all price-capped TCR cars it can be yours for `75 lakh with a full season costing around `1.2 crore – which for a brand-new state-of-the-art racing car is pretty affordable.

Or, for a fraction of that cost (less than a tenth!), you can stick with the Ameo Cup knowing full well that it too has GTI provenance – its 1.8 TSI motor is from the last-gen Polo GTI. ⌧