New Astra to compete in 2016 TCR races

The Astra, which will go head to head with race-tuned cars including the VW Golf, Seat Leon and Audi TT, will have the standard TCR spec: a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine restricted to 325bhp and 302lb ft. It is currently under development with Vauxhall motorsport who are planning to start official tests in October.

Tina Müller, CMO of the Opel Group, said: “The philosophy of the new TCR series corresponds to our idea of customer racing. We want to give ambitious privately owned teams a platform for exciting sport at reasonable costs.”

The sketches reveal a few styling touches seen in the Astra VXR Extreme concept presented at the Geneva motor show last year. That car was said to develop in excess of 300bhp from its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine.

Vauxhall is not alone in unveiling a TCR contender in the past few weeks. Volkwagen Motorsport took the wraps off its own new Golf hatch-based TCR concept in July.

The standard production Astra will be revealed to the public this September at the Frankfurt motor show, while its racing counterpart is likely to hit the shows before year-end.