Wednesday 2nd October 2019

Mazda 3 TCR announced for 2020

Mazda's racing 3 might just be the best-looking TCR car yet...

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Mazda is apparently adhering to the old adage that great looking racing cars are often the fastest, because the brand’s all-new 3 TCR is nothing short of drop dead gorgeous. Developed by Mazda North America with specialist Long Road Racing for the 2020 season, the track-machine slots neatly into the world of TCR with a 350hp turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, but it leaves the rest of the category’s field dead last in the looks department.

Of course, TCR regulations dictate that much of the car’s underlying features are controlled by strict regulation, including the maximum output of that four-pot motor – which comes mated to a Sadev six-speed sequential and is just short of twice as powerful as the quickest 3 road car’s heart. Mazda offers its racer’s chassis with a choice of Bilstein or upgraded Ohlins adjustable suspension as per the norm, with Brembo brakes and Michelin slicks wrapped around Rays 18-inch wheels (also gorgeous) included.

Also as per category rules, the 3 racer weighs no less than 1,285kg with the driver and retains its standard front-wheel drive layout, but don’t underestimate the effectiveness of the car’s uniquely sleek exterior design in ensuring competitiveness against the likes of the Civic Type R, Golf GTI and i30 N TCR models. Moreover, Long Road Racing is not lacking experience in developing great motorsport machines, with the American squad having most recently created the MX-5 Cup car, so we’re optimistic of the new model’s chances next year.

Privateer entrants who fall for the 3 TCR’s looks will be eligible to race in any of the 36 series with TCR classes currently operating in the world, such as the FIA WTCR, IMSA and events in the Nurburgring VLN calendar – including the famed 24-hour race. For now, these shady 3 TCR images are effective enough to whet the appetite for how the car would look sprinting around a Moon-lit Nordschleife. Corr blimey etc. Maybe if we all make that noise loud enough, Mazda might consider building a TCR-badged range-topper for the road-going 3. Because, at the moment, the manufacturer claims that such a model is, "not in our plans". Shame.

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Tempted? Find a used Mazda 3 here

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[Ruskins]

MPS version please Mazda!

[anonymous-user]

The new 3 is such a great looking car (as is the 6 in fact) absolutely crying out for more power. They have a turbocharged version of the 2.5 SkyActive that they sell in the US, and although it's a right scrabbler in the 6 the 3 does have AWD as an option...

[dunnoreally]

I like how much TCRs share with the roadgoing model, but I'd be more interested still if they ditched all the balance of performance cack and let the cars get as powerful and light as the roadgoing model-based engines and chassis could manage.

Let's see who's really the quickest.

[The Vambo]

Drop dead gorgeous? Behave yourself.