We could pretend that we requested the keys to this Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR because we knew VW was about to pull the plug on its combustion-engined racing development programmes.
But it was simply fortunate timing.
The TCR series, which this model celebrates, replaced the World Touring Car Championship in 2015 with a promise of lower costs and cars as close to roadgoing stock as possible.
That may sound familiar – like the Touring Cars of old, maybe. Volkswagen was among the many that built a cash cow/car, selling to privateers and offering factory assistance at a cost.
Volkswagen was rarely seen in Touring Cars, but for the brief Passat tenure in the BTCC and the early Mk1/2 privateers, or in motorsport in general, in fact.
But still, this TCR edition is the last bastion of VW’s motorsport heritage as we know it and should be collectable for that alone.
That translates on to the road by means of a 44bhp power hike compared to the 242bhp GTI Performance, a door decal, and the TCR logo being projected on to the floor when the doors are open.
A race-inspired rear splitter extends out the back and the front bumpers are reworked, while Alcantara covers the door cards and seats.
