Racing variant of the Astra has been revealed and will join the new TCR motorsport series from next year
Vauxhall has released official design sketches of its new Astra-based race car.
The racing Astra will compete in the TCR motorsport series, which is billed as an affordable way for teams and individual drivers to compete at both a national and international level. The series had its first outing this year, featuring motorsport-derived variants of cars such as the Seat Leon, Audi TT, Volkswagen Golf and Honda Civic.
As with all TCR vehicles, the Astra racer is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, with outputs capped at 325bhp and 302lb ft.
Vauxhall's motorsport division is currently developing the car ahead of official testing starting in October. Opel Group CMO Tina Müller said: "Touring car racing has always been an important part of Opel. 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"
Some styling inspiration for the Astra racer appears to have come from the Astra VXR Extreme concept car revealed at the Geneva motor show in 2014. The Astra VXR Extreme was claimed to produce "over 300bhp" from its 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine.
The Astra racer isn't the only TCR competitor to be revealed in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Volkswagen Motorsport unveiled its own new TCR concept car, based on the latest Golf hatchback.
While the standard Vauxhall Astra will receive its first public outing at the Frankfurt motor show this September, it's likely the Astra racer won't be seen at a motor show until later in the year. The racing Astra is expected to join the TCR series for the 2016 season.
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