Opel developing all-new Astra OPC TCR touring car

Opel's ongoing participation in motorsports continue with the company's all-new hatchback, the Astra OPC TCR. As the 2015 TCR season draws to a close, Opel Motorsport will be providing all-new customer Astra OPC's by the 2016 season.

“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.” said Opel CMO Tina Müller. At the moment, the current generation Astra OPC (Opel Performance Center) is being raced by Campos Racing which scored a podium in Monza this year with Fernando Monje driving.

The all-new Astra was launched earlier this year and will form the basis for the company's next touring car. Called the Astra K, the touring car model will be powered by a 2.0 liter turbocharged with an output of 335 PS, with a maximum torque of 410 Nm. The all-new Astra OPC is currently in development and will undergo testing by October. The Astra OPC TCR will be fully revealed in the Frankfurt Motor Show.

In the preview, the Astra OPC TCR comes as a 5-door model and features Opel Motorsports' colors of yellow, gray and black. It also features a wider fenders which house the wide racing tires and a rear wing mounted on the tailgate.

Marcello Lotti, founder of the TCR International Series, said, “We are very pleased with Opel’s decision. We knew they were seriously evaluating the TCR concept in the latest month, and now the announcement that the new Astra is being developed in TCR-specs makes us very proud and adds another premier automobile brand to the TCR world.”