Rüsselsheim…. Opel is expanding its activities in customer touring car racing. Based on the new Astra, which will celebrate its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) this September (2015), the motorsports division of the Rüsselsheim-based carmaker is developing a touring car in accordance with the current regulations of the TCR series for national and international customer racing.

The TCR series, inaugurated in 2015, is based on a three-pillar concept that includes national and continental championships along with the global TCR International Series – all of which have exactly the same technical regulations. Therefore, a TCR vehicle can be used worldwide without undergoing any technical modifications. The two-liter turbo-charged engines have an output of 330 hp and maximum torque of 410 Nm.

“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 Group CMO Tina Müller.

The Opel Astra TCR is currently under development and the technical specifications will be announced at a later date. Testing of the new customer sports touring car is set to start in October.