Volkswagen has barely taken the wraps off the regular Mk8 Golf GTI, but it’s already preparing to up the ante with a faster, more focused GTI TCR.
Snapped on both road and track, the new TCR will feature a more aggressive aerodynamics package than the regular GTI, along with bigger wheels and what look to be larger exhaust pipes.
The tyres are lower-profile than those of the regular GTI, too, while the brakes look to be uprated.
Down back there’s a larger rear spoiler, too.
Volkswagen appears to have dropped the LED daytime running lights hiding in the front bumper, but otherwise the lighting and much of the body detailing remains the same.
Set for launch late in 2020 or early 2021, the GTI TCR is expected to pack a racier interior than the regular car, with more focused bucket seats.
When it lobs, the TCR is expected to pack 221kW of power from its turbo’d four-cylinder petrol engine – up more than 40kW on the standard GTI, and 8kW on the range-topping Golf R currently offered in Australia.
Our spy photographers have said, however, that a manual option is unlikely.
When it launches, the GTI TCR is set to go head-to-head with the modern crop of more focused hot hatches occupying a different space to the more all-round focused GTI.
The Honda Civic Type R packs 228kW of power, while the Renault Megane RS has 220kW. Both are offered with a manual transmission, however.
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