It hasn’t really been long since the Mk8
Volkswagen Golf GTI was revealed, but already Wolfsburg is lining up some tasty
special editions of the hot hatch. the spy photographers went to the
Nürburgring and managed to snag images of the TCR, which was clearly popular
enough in Mk7.5 form to warrant a second generation.
This car may at first glance look similar
to the standard GTI, but there are a few detail changes on the outside. While
the regular model wears the same front bumper as the R-Line version of the
cooking Golf, the TCR gets a more aggressive design with “fangs” on the bottom
edge of the full-width air intake, although some masking continues to obscure
its true look. It also ditches the GTI’s X-shaped fog lights.
Also different is the bigger rear spoiler
and the rear bumper insert with a diffuser-like slatted design, surrounding a
larger pair of tail pipes. On top of that, the development mule is wearing the
Mk7.5 Golf R‘s 19-inch Pretoria alloy wheels, which hide larger brakes and
cross-drilled front discs.
Expect the TCR to come with the same
powertrain as the previous model, itself an uprated version of the GTI’s 2.0
litre TSI turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Our spies suggest a modest 10 PS
increase to a round 300 PS, which should be enough to give rivals like the
Honda Civic Type R a run for their money. As before, power should be sent to
the front wheels via a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission.
