Mazda rolled out the all-new Mazda3 TCR race car Tuesday night, establishing itself as the latest supplier of race cars for the rapidly growing TCR Touring Car category. The new hatchback racer will join the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, beginning with the four-hour Endurance Challenge during the Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend of racing in January 2020.
Developed by the same race team that designed the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup car—Long Road Racing—this new TCR car features a turbocharged, 350-horsepower four-banger which drives the front wheels via a paddle-shifted, six-speed transmission. Mazda’s TCR features a broader body adorned with aerodynamic devices as grandiose as its splitter, diffuser, and Boeing-worthy wing, and as subtle as its side skirts and hatch spoiler. While we’d like to imagine that parts proven on the TCR car will make their way to the rumored Mazda3 “hyper” hatchback, Mazda has yet to suggest that this vehicle is any more than a myth.
The Mazda3 TCR will do battle with the likes of Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Honda in the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, among many other TCR-spec racing series.
“TCR represents a great opportunity for us to showcase the new Mazda3 and provide our customers another avenue to race Mazda vehicles,” said Masahiro Moro, Chairman and CEO, Mazda North American Operations. “Some of our most important successes in IMSA and SRO TC Americas have been thanks to dedicated customers who chose to race with Mazda, and we hope the next generation of Mazda racers see the same potential in the Mazda3 TCR.”
There’s no word yet on how much one of these bad boys will cost, or what its performance is like on the track. But needless to say, if it drives as good as it looks then it’ll be a spicy performer.
