How many TCR cars there are so far (2015-2021)
Today it’s a simple one. This is just a run through all the different cars built to TCR technical regulations which were introduced in 2015, from the original SEAT León Cup Racer, right up to the latest model, the new 2021-specification Audi RS 3 LMS. Plus a few interesting points about each model.
#1 - SEAT León Cup Racer/TCR & Cupra TCR (2015-current) - Cupra Racing
The hispanic sporty sibling of the Volkswagen family first showed off its ‘touring car of the future’ at the Salzburgring round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2013 - presenting what at that point was just a future that could have been, with WTCC already destined for the crazy-fast, crazy-expensive TC1 era the next year.
In fact, it turned out the car was showcasing what the WTCC would become in five years.
The SEAT León Cup Racer was launched in 2014, featuring in its own one-make SEAT Eurocup, before it became the most represented car on the grid of the inaugural TCR International Series season in 2015. To-date, the SEAT León, and its rebadged from 2018 Cupra TCR is still the biggest selling TCR car of all.
With its Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG) in the first generation, it was the most cost-effective touring car in existence, coming in just under 100k EUR. The costs picked up a little with the addition of the Sadev six-speed sequential box in the 2016 ‘TCR’ model, which was brought in to keep pace with its main rival, then the Honda Civic.
While these days the car is now not at the top level, also since it has been superseded from Cupra Racing with its Leon Competición, the Cupra TCR, especially its DSG variant, is still one of the most popular models chosen by teams to use in endurance racing - taking full advantage of the low-cost gearbox, and plentiful parts supply.
Notable achievements:
2015 TCR International Series drivers’ title (Stefano Comini)
2017 & 2019 TCR Scandinavia championship drivers’ title (Robert Dahlgren)
2018 TCR Europe Touring Car Series drivers’ title (Mikel Azcona)
#2 - Honda Civic Type R FK2 TCR (2015-) - JAS Motorsport
Developed by JAS Motorsport alongside its WTCC programme, the Civic Type R FK2 made its racing debut at the TCR International Series opener in Malaysia 2015, then run by Swedish touring car powerhouse WestCoast Racing, and with close support from the car’s builders..
The Civic FK2 was a championship contender from the start, with former Formula 1 driver and WTCC race winner Gianni Morbidelli at the wheel.
The car came so close to winning the 2017 drivers’ title with young Hungarian star Attila Tassi, with M1RA, the race team of then Honda WTCC racer Norbert Michelisz, fielding the cars in the year when WestCoast Racing had defected to Volkswagen.
Known for its fast starts, and strong all-round performance, the FK2 is still out there and winning races, even though it was effectively replaced just three years after its launch by the new FK7 model.
Notable achievements:
2016 and 2017 TCR Germany championship drivers’ title (Josh Files)
2016 and 2017 TCR Benelux championship drivers’ title (Stephane Lémeret and Benjamin Lessennes)
#3 - Ford Focus TCR (2015-2016) - Onyx Race Engineering & FRD Sport
The Ford Focus TCR was built by Onyx Race Engineering, which rose from the ashes of the Arena International team - the successful British Touring Car Championship team which had collapsed at the end of 2012 after one year on the world stage.
The car did travel to the Malaysian opener of TCR in 2015, but wasn’t able to take part in the races, eventually making its competitive debut (and arguably its only competitive performance) several months later at Monza, driven by Tom Boardman.
The car’s development was soon handed over to Hong Kong-based Formula Racing Development (FRD), with the programme deemed not viable from its British base, but a smattering of uncompetitive appearances, including its last at Macau 2016 with FRD team principal Kenneth Ma failing to qualify, saw the programme shut down. The car was last seen taking part in the early 2017 Balance of Performance test.
The Ford Focus TCR is now the only TCR car built (as of March 2021), which is no longer eligible for competition.
#4 - Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR (2015-) - Volkswagen Motorsport
Following on from the success of the SEAT León Cup Racer, Volkswagen soon began its development of the Golf GTI TCR, with Engstler Motorsport the first customer team for the cars.
Development driver Pol Rosell debuted the car at the Spielberg circuit in Austria in July 2015, and the car had a handful of competitive outings before W Racing Team (WRT) swooped in and became the torch bearers for the German marque from 2016.
WRT signed reigning champion Stefano Comini and single-seater star Jean-Karl Vernay, and went on to take two consecutive titles with the Golf, which remains competitive to this day, even though Volkswagen halted development of its ninth-generation model at the end of 2019, and switched its focus to electric motorsport.
Notable achievements:
2016 TCR International Series drivers’ title (Stefano Comini)
2017 TCR International Series drivers’ title (Jean-Karl Vernay)
2018 and 2020 TCR Scandinavia championship drivers’ title (Johan Kristoffersson and Rob Huff)
#5 - Subaru WRX STi TCR (2015-2019) - Top Run Motorsport
Based on the Subaru hot hatch and WRC influenced road car, the WRX STi TCR was developed by Italian motorsport outfit Top Run Motorsport.
The car is one of the more attractive race cars, but unfortunately one of the least competitive, plagued by technical issues throughout its lifespan. The car was last seen regularly stopping at the side of the track in Australia in the 2019 TCR Australia series season, despite showing some impressive pace.
The car made its debut in Singapore in September 2015, and its highest profile driver was Swiss star Alain Menu, who was brought in to race the car at the Macau season finale, but the man himself left to go back home to Scotland after the first practice session.
Technically, the car is still eligible and could be seen racing in 2021, but is more likely to be found in the smaller series with teams who are looking to race something just a little different.
#6 - Opel Astra TCR (2016-) - Kissling Motorsport
The Astra TCR was built by Kissling Motorsport to replace the VLN-focussed Opel Astra OPC, and based on the new Astra K for the 2016 TCR campaigns.
Opel’s programme drew the interest of 2015 champions Target Competition, which ditched their SEAT Leóns for the new car, but it was evident the car still had some development time ahead of and Target quickly switched to Honda after just one race, while Opel continued to develop its car in the wild.
Its new partner DG Sport Competition had some impressive performances with the car in the TCR Benelux championship in 2016, and again in the TCR International Series in 2017. The best result for the car came when Austrian driver Harald Proczyk won the TCR Germany championship title in 2018. Since then, the Astra hasn’t been troubling the front of any fields anywhere, with its 2019 TCR Australia series season perhaps its last best showing.
The car is still alive and in use in the national championships, carrying the Holden or Vauxhall badges where relevant.
Notable achievements:
2018 TCR Germany championship drivers’ title (Harald Proczyk)
#7 - Alfa Romeo Giulietta RF TCR (2016-) - Romeo Ferraris
Launched at the start of 2016, the Romeo Ferraris-developed Giulietta and its upgraded replacement has arguably been the most successful TCR car developed which has no manufacturer involvement.
While 2016 was very much a development year for the Giulietta, with Micheala Cerruti and Petr Fulín driving the car at various rounds, 2017 saw the car leap forwards in the hands of Dusan Borkovic and Davit Kajaia, with the Giulietta proving it would excel at certain circuits. This was perhaps in part due to its unique configuration, being the first TCR car to run with a smaller capacity engine of just 1.75 litres, compared to the 2.0-litre standard used by its rivals.
The Giulietta RF has since been replaced with the upgraded Giulietta Veloce, but can still be found racing in some series.
#8 - Audi RS 3 LMS 8V (2017-) - Audi Sport customer racing
The Audi RS 3 was a TCR success story from its launch, with sales of the car far exceeding Audi Sport’s ability to produce the car when it was launched in 2017.
Based on the third-generation Audi A3 (it’s called an RS 3 for marketing reasons; the RS 3 itself is powered by a 2.5-litre engine and is all-wheel drive, both of which are banned in TCR), the car made up the bulk of the 2017 TCR Germany championship grid, with 16 cars entered in a field which shot past the 40-car mark that year.
In the 2017 TCR International Series it was a title contender right from the start, with brand-new team Comtoyou Racing having a strong first year with Stefano Comini and Frédéric Vervisch, with Comtoyou Racing having become the main racing partner for Audi Sport in Europe.
Notable achievements:
2018 Guia Race of Macau winners (Jean-Karl Vernay and Frédéric Vervisch)
2018 TCR Model Of The Year (all championships award)
2019 TCR Japan Touring Car Series - Sunday Series (Takeshi Matsumoto)
2020 TCR Japan Touring Car Series - Saturday & Sunday Series (Takuro Shinohara)
2020 TCR Europe series drivers’ title (Mehdi Bennani)
#9 - Lada Vesta TCR (2017-) - Lada Sport
Say privet to the new Lada Vesta, launched in 2017 just as Lada Sport Rosneft had opted to call time on its WTCC programme at the end of 2016.
The Vesta TCR popped up in the Russian Circuit Racing Series in 2017, with a two-litre turbocharged car taking on the mantle of the Vesta WTCC, but now racing at home in Russia, instead of out on the world platform.
The car was capable, but not quite up to the same standard as the SEAT León TCRs and new Audi RS 3 LMSs which dominated the field in 2017, before the new Hyundai appeared in 2018.
The Vesta was the Russian manufacturer’s leading model for two years before an upgraded model was introduced in 2019.
#10 - K:FORCE Kia Cee’d TCR (2017-2018) - STARD
The K:FORCE Kia Cee’d TCR was launched by Austrian motorsport specialists STARD (Stohl Advanced Research and Development) at the end of 2016, with the new car shown off at the season finale of the TCR Benelux Touring Car Championship.
The car made its racing debut six months later at the Hungarian round of the TCR International Series, with Zengo Motorsport making the daring move to run the car at its home race, with the car delivered on the Friday.
The debut was therefore little more than a very public shakedown, and not really the best way to showcase the car, which otherwise proved competitive on its limited outings in TCR, including the International, Iberian, and Chinese championships over the next year.
Unfortunately, the Cee’d TCR’s cards were marked from the start, with Kia’s approval of the programme having come from the European arm, and not at group level. Kia Hyundai group had its own plan - with the Hyundai brand launching a whole customer racing division and its own N performance brand, with the i30 N TCR introduced in late 2017.
#11 - Hyundai i30 N TCR (2017-) - Hyundai Motorsport
One of the most successful TCR cars to-date, the i30 N TCR made its racing debut in China at the end of 2017, with the car pouncing to victory in the hands of Gabriele Tarquini, who’d been snapped up by Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing’s new technical head, Andrea Adamo, who’d worked with Tarquini before at Honda (JAS Motorsport) and Alfa Romeo (N Technology).
The car, also with a framework of national dealer support in various markets, has become one of the hottest selling cars, and won the inaugural WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup’s teams’ and drivers’ standings, and won the drivers’ title again with Norbert Michelisz a year later.
The popularity of the car grew so much that the 2019 TCR Europe series grid was comprised of 12 i30s; and the success for the South Korean brand has led to two off-shoot models for other markets, where the two-box family hatchback isn’t so popular.
Notable achievements:
2018 WTCR - World Touring Car Cup drivers’ title (Gabriele Tarquini) and teams’ title (M Racing YMR)
2019 WTCR - World Touring Car Cup drivers’ title (Norbert Michelisz)
2019 TCR Europe Touring Car Series drivers’ title (Josh Files)
2019 TCR Germany Touring Car Championship drivers’ title (Max Hesse)
2019 TCR Australia Touring Car Series drivers’ title (Will Brown)
2020 TCR Germany Touring Car Championship drivers’ title (Antti Buri)
#12 - Peugeot 308TCR (2018-) - Peugeot Sport
The first French TCR car was technically launched in 2016. with the Peugeot 308 Racing Cup, which was developed by Peugeot Sport for its one-make series, but was also listed for TCR competition with the relevant Balance of Performance measures. The Racing Cup took part in the TCR International Series at Spa-Francorchamps in early May ‘16, before running in the WTCC event at the Nürburgring Nordschleife a month later. Both entries were run by the Clairet brothers, who still compete with Peugeot until this day.
Following Citroen Racing’s exit from the WTCC, some of the knowledge was transferred across the PSA Peugeot-Citroen group into the Peugeot 308TCR, still using a 1 .6-litre engine, therefore the smallest capacity engine homologated for TCR competition. The spritely 308TCR has proven itself a highly competitive TCR car, winning a race of the new WTCR in 2018 in Wuhan, China, and has been a championship challenger ever since in the competitive TCR Europe series.
Notable achievements:
2019 & 2020 TCR Ibérico Touring Car Series drivers’ titles (Gonzalo De Andrés)
#13 - Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR (2018-) - JAS Motorsport
In 2018, JAS Motorsport brought out the new Civic based on the ninth-generation road model of Honda’s sporty hatchback. The car itself was far more aggressive looking than its predecessor, designed for the global market and therefore had to splice European styling with a look that would also work in America and Asia.
The car itself is based on the standard Civic, hence the FK7 in its homologation name, as opposed to FK8, which is specifically the Type R, which is a slightly larger vehicle. The car still carries the Type R moniker for marketing reasons.
The car has been in contention for every WTCR drivers’ and teams’ crown since its launch, and has been the direct foe to the Hyundai i30, with similar performance, appearance, and dealer marketing support in national series. The Civic TCR won the inaugural seasons of the Japanese and Danish series, and has also finished as a close runner-up in the major TCR series in China, Germany, and Europe.
Notable achievements:
2018 Guia Race of Macau winner (Esteban Guerrieri)
2019 TCR Japan Touring Car Series - Saturday Series (Matt Howson)
2019 TCR Model Of The Year (all championships award)
2020 TCR Denmark Touring Car Series drivers’ title (Kasper H. Jensen)
2020 TCR Model Of The Year (all championships award)
#14 - Renault Mégane RS TCR (2018-) - Vukovic Motorsport
Swiss-engineered, the French hot hatch made its TCR debut in 2018, racing in the TCR Europe series. With some notional support from Renaultsport, the car is primarily a privateer affair, and it also has a lower capacity engine, outfitted with a 1.8-litre engine.
The car has been on a steady development curve, and some racing highlights in the 2019 TCR Eastern Europe Trophy, as well the the 2019 TCR Australian Touring Car Series are the grand results for the car.
The Mégane RS TCR then made the move up to the WTCR in 2020, taking advantage of the lower-cost, coronavirus-driven Europe-only calendar, with the cars driven by Australian visitor Dylan O’Keefe, and Northern Ireland’s Jack Young, before former Peugeot Sport development driver Aurelién Comte completed the season, scoring the car’s first FIA World Cup points.
#15 - Lada Vesta Sport TCR (2019-) - Lada Sport
Lada Sport developed the Lada Vesta Sport TCR (they clearly love their ‘sport’) for 2019, going for a smaller capacity 1.8-litre engine on the new car. The car was a key step forward from its predecessor, and former WTCC racer Kirill Ladygin was a strong contender for the drivers’ title in year one, eventually taking the title in the car’s second season in 2020.
Notable achievements:
2020 TCR Russia Touring Car Championship drivers’ title (Kirill Ladygin)
#16 - Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR (2019-) - Romeo Ferraris
Not so much a whole new model, but an upgrade on previous model, using the top trim level Veloce name to distinguish the car from its predecessor. The most notable difference is a change to the rear aerodynamics, sculpting out the bottom of the bumper, removing the “parachute” as team principal Mario Ferraris described it to me.
The car has proven to be a capable race winner and even championship contender in WTCR with Kevin Ceccon, Ma Qing Hua, and Jean-Karl Vernay. The Giulietta Veloce is therefore a great alternative to the models from Hyundai, Honda, and Volkswagen Group for small teams.
#17 - Lynk & Co 03 TCR (2019-) - Geely Group Motorsport
The Chinese developed, UK assembled 03 TCR has one of the most unique looks on the grid, a three-box saloon car designed for the Chinese market, and one that is highly unlikely to appear in Europe. Saloons are of course ideal for touring car racing, with their low aerodynamic drag coefficient.
The car also has a bit of a short name, borrowing the basic numbering style from brands such as Audi and BMW, which also don’t spend much time in the marketing meetings thinking up names for their cars.
The car won the teams’ title in its first WTCR season in 2019, and secured both drivers’ and teams’ titles in the curtailed Europe-only 2020 season, as well as the drivers’ championship title China, and also defended its performance in the 2019 Guia Race of Macau, where it won all three races, by winning the 2020 Guia Race with Jason Zhang.
Notable achievements:
2019 WTCR - World Touring Car Cup teams’ title (Cyan Racing)
2020 WTCR - World Touring Car Cup drivers’ title (Yann Ehrlacher) and teams’ title (Cyan Racing)
2020 TCR China Touring Car Championship drivers’ title (Ma Qing Hua)
2019 and 2020 Guia Race of Macau winners (Yvan Muller, Andy Priaulx, and Jason Zhang)
#18 - Hyundai Veloster N TCR (2019-) - Hyundai Motorsport
The four-dour coupé (yes, it has two doors on one side, one on the other, plus the boot, which just allows it to pass TCR’s four doors or more criteria), was launched in 2019, based on the i30, and mainly targeted for the American market, though it has made occasional appearances in the Nurburgring 24 Hour race, as well as the TCR Malaysia championship.
The car has proved dominant in the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, and the TC America series, which has led to a number of tweaks to the series’ compensation weight systems. It doesn’t help that the Veloster N TCR is primarily run by the high-calibre Bryan Herta Autosport team.
#19 - MG 6 XPOWER TCR (2019-) - MG XPOWER
Introduced in 2019, and focussed on the China marketing, the Lisheng Racing developed MG 6 XPOWER TCR is one of TCR’s largest cars, based on the D-segment saloon car which is now only available in Asia.
The car won the 2020 TCR China teams’ championship, with a stellar driver line-up featuring all of its CTCC sister squad, Shanghai VW333 Racing’s drivers, and also won the first race of the 2020 Macau Guia Race, with touring car veteran Rob Huff making his debut with the car.
The car made a brief trip to Europe to take part in the inaugural FIA Motorsport Games in 2019, driven by Zhang Zhen Dong and Rory Butcher.
Notable achievements:
2020 TCR China Touring Car Championship teams’ and models’ champions
#20 - Cupra Leon Competición (2020-) - Cupra Racing
The first of the ‘second generation’ TCR cars to come from the Volkswagen Group is the Cupra Leon Competición, replacing the longstanding Cupra TCR, and a fast seller straight away, with competitive programmes in WTCR, TCR Scandinavia, and TCR Eastern Europe in 2020 - but was most successful with Scuderia del Girasole in the TCR Italy championship, winning the drivers’ title with Salvatore Tavano in its first racing year.
The car also won a WTCR race in 2020 against tough competition with Mikel Azcona, taking the first win for the Zengo Motorsport team in five years.
Notable achievements:
2020 TCR Italy Touring Car Championship drivers’ champions (Salvatore Tavano)
#21 - Hyundai Elantra N TCR (2021-) - Hyundai Motorsport
In just four years, Hyundai Motorsport has churned out its third TCR car (fourth if you count the Veloster N ETCR).
Making its debut at Daytona for the season opener of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, the Elantra is the first Hyundai car to only come with the new common ECU, hence it needed a bit of breaking in against the established Velosters with their bespoke ECUs.
The car has potential, running in the preferred low-aero three-box shape, but which markets we see the car racing in remains to be seen. Unlikely to be too common in Europe, due to the fact that Elantra is only sold in the American, Asian, and Australasian markets where the C-segment saloon is still a thing.
#22 - Audi RS 3 LMS 8Y (2021-) - Audi Sport customer racing
New for 2021 will be the Audi RS 3 LMS 2021, based on the fourth-generation Audi A3, and will carry the name of the yet-to-be-launched performance saloon car.
It’ll share plenty of technology with the new Cupra Leon Competición (and the aborted new Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR), and will first be campaigned by longstanding racing partners Comtoyou Racing in the WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup, while it’ll also be available to customers.
The new Cupra was already a strong seller in its debut year in 2020, despite the global situation, and there’s no reason to believe the RS 3 won’t go even better. The team’s target is to win the 2021 WTCR, putting it firmly into the mix with the other ‘second generation’ TCR cars such as the Hyundai, Honda, and Lynk & Co.
