Volkswagen is in the process of developing a new customer racing car based on the seventh-generation Golf hatchback. The goal is to evaluate a “possible customer racing project” for 2016 with a turnkey racing car that you can buy and enter into the Touringcar Racer International Series (TCR) with.

VW Golf Touringcar Racer is based on a production five-door model and powered by a four-cylinder engine that is not that much more powerful than the engine in the Golf R. It is a lot lighter though, and a hugely more aerodynamic thanks to a racing aero kit with massive splitter and spoilers. The car also features a racing seat with head protectors, a racing safety cell, and a safety tank in accordance with FIA regulations.

In developing the Golf Touringcar Racer Volkswagen has benefited from SEAT’s experience with the Leon Cup Racer. That car too is a production-based racer and is based on the MQB platform as the Golf with a chassis upgraded for track work. Powering the Golf TCR is a 330 PS and 410 Nm version of the 2.0 liter TSI found in many VW models, mated to a DSG gearbox with shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel.

The TCR Golf is still very much a concept and has a long away ahead of it to become a fully operational customer racing model. But a rigorous testing procedure is scheduled for it under competitive conditions at the remaining four race weekends in the international TCR series.