Well, even in the world of racing looking matters these days, which is why Volkswagen have given their Golf GTI TCR race car a facelift for the 2018 season. There is more to this facelift, mind you, than just fashion and beauty. And no, it has nothing with aerodynamics and all that.

TCR race cars, you see, are based on the production models one can buy in the showroom. So they look fairly similar to the road-going version, and the closer they look to the production car, the better. That is the reason behind 2018 Golf GTI TCR facelift. The 350 horsepower racer gets a new face that is unmistakably GTI. The car maker hopes that the success of this car on the race track would lend this highly recognizable face a certain prestige, which in turn would translates into more sales for the production model. Other road car-related features include GTI-specific features like the typical red stripe in the radiator grille and the legendary ‘Clark’ plaid seat covers. The TCR Golf will be ready for delivery from January onwards.

“The new look for the Golf GTI TCR resulted from close cooperation with Volkswagen Design. This helps us to underline just what a close relationship exists between the production model and the racing version,” explains Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. “For example, the engine comes directly from series production and only requires minimal adjustment for competitive racing. This is proof that the Golf GTI provides the perfect foundation for our customer racing cars.”