The TCR International Series may not be as well known as the World Touring Car Championship but the racing series is still home to some exciting drivers and cars and soon, things will get even more interesting.



Austrian company STARD is currently developing an entrant for the series based around the Kia Cee’d GT. The hatchback is probably best known as being one of Top Gear’s reasonably priced cars but in TCR racing trim and with the aid of STARD, it is being transformed into an absolute animal.

On a powertrain front, the race-spec Cee’d GT is expected to receive a no-holds-barred 2.0-liter turbocharged four-banger delivering 330 hp. All of that power will be sent to the front wheels courtesy of a sequential transmission with paddle shifters.

While we won’t know just how fast the car is until it makes its on-track debut next month, the array of aerodynamic aids prove that downforce will be its number one priority. At the front there is a huge splitter protruding from the bumper and complemented with massive air intakes to cool the punchy powertrain.

Other key aero elements are the extended side skirts, hood vents and the massive swan-neck, roof-mounted rear wing.

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