New GTI Model the "TCR"

[neilw]

I just spotted this and thought it would probably be of interest

A new GTi to sit between the R and the PP

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-germancars/vw-golf-gti-tcr-unveiled/37988
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volkswagen-reveals-286bhp-golf-gti-tcr

I like the seats, but not sure on the graphics on the side also "Comes with "titanium Akrapovič exhaust system " according to Autocar 

[bobby_fodge]

The seats remind me of Mk3 Recaros

[GitFlog]

nice looking but whats the price? being a limited run they wont be cheap.

i agree the silly design on the side is not for me as well its the honey comb design like on the mk5 front grill's isn't it.

[gtipirelli]

I think the decals can be dropped at no cost. Otherwise it looks great and a bit more purposeful than the plain regular GTi

Don’t think they will be limited by number, the limit will be time as the factory will be retooling for the MK8 pretty soon

I think you would have to still really want one over the amazing R but the thought of having something a little unusual is still quite a draw

[Sessions]

The seats remind me of Mk3 Recaros

I was thinking the same old school racing maybe they had surplus stock to rid.😊

[pudding]

nice looking but whats the price? being a limited run they wont be cheap.

i agree the silly design on the side is not for me as well its the honey comb design like on the mk5 front grill's isn't it.

Personally I think it’s tacky and pointless. It smacks of desperation to win back customers after the diesel disaster.  They will probably all be bought up by speculators within minutes of it being released, just like the Clubsport S, thanks to VW inheriting Porsche’s deliberate market throttling strategy.  And what is this silly 1980s Knight Rider ‘over boost’ all about? Just run it at 2.1bar all of the time 

VW need to get real with their pricing. The South Koreans are currently knocking out some performance bargains, and VAG have become the Apple of the car world. The danger being, there will come a point where people will no longer pay a hefty price tag for perceived prestige.

All VW need to do is make a GTI, an R and a Clubsport S spec to cover all tastes, at sensible prices and not deliberately limited. That would fend off the cheaper stuff snapping at their heels.  They don’t need stupid specials every other year!

[colesey]

I see Mercedes are now launching a detuned A45 to compete head on with the Golf R. A subtle message to VW that their best effort is second best.  VW needs to try harder and the TCR is little more than a complacent rehash of Clubsport / Cupra 290 with high cost options to try eke out more profit.

[pudding]

The full fat A45 AMG is quite a beast but it doesn't feel as fast as it's numbers suggest, though.  Certainly no faster than mine when it was Stage 2, when rolling at least.  Off the line, a different matter 

What surprised me is AMG have ignored NVH in favour of performance as you can really feel the engine, especially at idle.  Nasty droney exhaust as well + pops and bangs dialled up to Chav factor 10.  Really not my bag at all and really nothing to look at inside or out, either.  The Golf R is by far the better all round car, imo.  Considering VW don't have a big name tuning company to off load their performance stuff onto, the R is a very good in-house effort from a traditionally very conservative company.   Plus we all know with some good coilovers and a remap, the A45's advantage is quickly reigned in.  The A45 has pretty much no scope for improvement as AMG have already maxxed it out.  Probably the real reason why are offering a detuned one.

[Shoduchi]

The GTI TCR is just a revised Clubsport with no overboost limitation (finally!), so it always makes full power. Like previously said, this is just a limited production in time, not like the Clubsport S that was limited in numbers made, which leads to price speculation.

I much prefer the Clubsport exterior and interior design. The TCR being a mk7.5 will have a better HU to play with.

@Pudding the A45 with an hybrid turbo, an IC, intake and downpipe can reach 430-440 HP. The block is strong and the gearbox can hold around 600 Nm but the factory boost pipes can't hold much more boost without leaking or bursting.

[pudding]

The Autocar link above says it runs 1.9 bar normally and 2.1 bar in overboost mode.  290hp seems low for that much pressure.  Our ED30s are well past 350 runing 2 bar boost!

I didn't think there was room for an IC on the A45 so they used a water-air system, but it is a bit small!  A hybrid turbo will will go a long way on any engine but the stock configuration is very close to the hp limit, just backed off a little for reliability.

[Shoduchi]

The Autocar link above says it runs 1.9 bar normally and 2.1 bar in overboost mode.  290hp seems low for that much pressure.  Our ED30s are well past 350 runing 2 bar boost!

I didn't think there was room for an IC on the A45 so they used a water-air system, but it is a bit small!  A hybrid turbo will will go a long way on any engine but the stock configuration is very close to the hp limit, just backed off a little for reliability.

Those boost figures must be total boost pressure (with atmospheric pressure included). From stock our engines make about 2.2 bar peak and 1.9 bar stable, I think.

You're right, they have a water-air system so they don't need to upgrade it. I thought of a stage 2 setup where an upgraded IC would be needed to reach top power figures...

I have a couple of friends with those engines (CLA45 and A45) and all had boost pipes or boost pipes connections issues with the OEM pipes/connections after doing a remap alone.

[pudding]

Yeah that's a good point, must be 'absolute' pressure.....but that also means 290hp from 1.2 bar 'gauge' pressure is not possible!      That is stock 8P S3 boost pressure which makes 265hp, so I reckon the EA888 Gen 3 is in the 1.5 bar region to get 300hp.....as a guesstimate 

I will ask my friend if he wants to upgrade his A45 AMG      To be honest, it doesn't 'feel' 381hp to me!  Mine kept up with it easily in the 60 - 120mph acceleration band, and mine was only around 340ish hp back then.

[Shoduchi]

Yeah that's a good point, must be 'absolute' pressure.....but that also means 290hp from 1.2 bar 'gauge' pressure is not possible!      That is stock 8P S3 boost pressure which makes 265hp, so I reckon the EA888 Gen 3 is in the 1.5 bar region to get 300hp.....as a guesstimate 

I have a friend with a tuned K04 mk5 GTI but still without an upgraded HPFP and bigger injectors which makes around 315 HP with 0.98 bar of stable boost. Mine with stock file and stage 2+ bits fitted made 270 HP. If the tune pushes more ignition timing advance you won't need as much boost. It won't be as safe to run under higher IAT but it's possible to have around 300 HP with that boost.

Yeah that's a good point, must be 'absolute' pressure.....but that also means 290hp from 1.2 bar 'gauge' pressure is not possible!      That is stock 8P S3 boost pressure which makes 265hp, so I reckon the EA888 Gen 3 is in the 1.5 bar region to get 300hp.....as a guesstimate 
I will ask my friend if he wants to upgrade his A45 AMG      To be honest, it doesn't 'feel' 381hp to me!  Mine kept up with it easily in the 60 - 120mph acceleration band, and mine was only around 340ish hp back then.

Yeah, the A45 are heavy and have more drive train losses than our FWD cars. When I had mine with 340ish HP (without adding the octane booster to reach 355 HP) I would keep up with a stock A45 too. At the moment I haven't tested with any car but mine feels a lot faster than before and I have more slight traction issues till higher speeds.

[pudding]

315hp from 1 bar!!  Seriously?  Stock ED30 boost is only 0.9 bar for 230hp 

Mine in Revo 'stock' mode feels easily 270 - 280hp for some weird reason. It keeps up with MK7 Golf Rs easily.  I don't understand why but it sure as hell cannot be running stock boost     I have the stock downpipe with both cats and stock intake, so maybe the S3 intercooler is improving things more than I expected.  I can't think of any other reason.  It definitely has much better flow and cooling than the stock MK5 intercooler.  Spools quicker and feels more consistent at the top end. 

[Shoduchi]

315hp from 1 bar!!  Seriously?  Stock ED30 boost is only 0.9 bar for 230hp 

Mine in Revo 'stock' mode feels easily 270 - 280hp for some weird reason. It keeps up with MK7 Golf Rs easily.  I don't understand why but it sure as hell cannot be running stock boost     I have the stock downpipe with both cats and stock intake, so maybe the S3 intercooler is improving things more than I expected.  I can't think of any other reason.  It definitely has much better flow and cooling than the stock MK5 intercooler.  Spools quicker and feels more consistent at the top end.

Yeah! He has a VWR intake, S3 IC, K04 turbo and a decat TBE with 3''. He just needs an upgraded HPFP, S3 injectors and sensors to make more power, capping the torque to prevent damaging the rods...

If it's not too expensive, get yours dyno tested to see with what you're playing with at the moment.