Kia Motors has now formally announced its TCR racing programme following an earlier social media tease of the new project, with Austrian rally driver Manfred Stohl’s STARD team tasked with developing the new Kia Cee’d GT TCR for the low-cost touring car formula.
STARD (Stohl Advanced Research And Development) has long been associated with the South Korean brand, and also works with the manufacturer on its successful China Touring Car Championship with the Cee’d close relative, the K3S.
The Cee’d TCR is currently in development, and will run with a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine with an output of 330bhp, a sequential paddle-shift gearbox and a safety package compliant with the FIA’s latest requirements.
The car will be officially launched later this year and made available to customers, the first customer programme by the Kia brand in motorsport.
“The combination between the TCR International Series and the Kia Cee´d appeared absolutely perfect from the very beginning,” said Manfred Stohl. “A huge demand among interested customers even before the official release equally demonstrates how anticipated the appearance of Kia-cars was in the motorsport world and how right the choice was with the TCR International Series. We even have requests from Australia.”
Stohl’s business partner, Michael Sakowicz, CEO of STARD, added:
“We are already in discussions with some teams that are primarily interested in international activities. To satisfy their needs in the best possible way, already during the development stage, we plan to cooperate very closely with at least one team in order to provide a customer friendly car since the beginning. The testing schedule is fixed and will be completed strictly as planned. Reliability and a perfectly functioning car are the most important factors for a successful TCR project.”
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