Bitauto’s original TCR event is becoming more and more popular in China, and more and more manufacturers and even individuals are willing to participate in this event. Our protagonist today, the MG5 XPOWER TCR racing car, is built on the basis of the MG5 Scorpio. This new car has already won three championships in the recent TCR ASIA and CTCC Super Cup, which can be said to be outstanding.
Why is TCR so popular?
Before introducing today’s protagonist, the MG5 XPOWER TCR racing car, I think it is still necessary to give you a brief introduction to the difference between the TCR racing car and the previous WTCC racing car. In fact, the biggest difference between the two is two words - cost. The cost of traditional WTCC racing cars is too high, and if the teams participating in the competition want to achieve results, they must spend real money to build the racing cars. So in this case , some teams that have been unable to achieve good results have naturally chosen to withdraw. For event organizers, this is certainly not something they want to see. So in 2018, the declining WTCC event also completed the merger with the thriving TCR event, which is the WTCR Touring Car World Cup we see now.
MG6 XPOWER TCR racing car
As for the reason why there are many participants in the TCR event, cost is the most critical factor. The cost of a TCR racing car is only around a few hundred thousand yuan, and TCR racing cars also have strict modification standards. First of all, the vehicle must be a mass-produced model produced by the manufacturer, and it must use a mass-produced turbine with a displacement of no more than 2.0L. The maximum horsepower of a supercharged engine after modification must not exceed 350Ps, and there are strict restrictions on suspension, tire size, vehicle weight and even body size. More importantly, a BOP (Balance of performance) balance mechanism has been introduced, which allows each vehicle to have similar performance by increasing or decreasing the weight of the participating vehicles or adjusting the vehicle's ground clearance. Such a fairer and less expensive event will certainly be welcomed by many manufacturers.
A racing car priced at 100,000 euros
We know that the MG brand has always had racing genes since its birth, and the same is true for this MG5 XPOWER TCR racing car. Although it has been completely transformed into a racing car, the basic shape of the MG5 Scorpio can still be seen. And this racing car can be sold to the outside world, with a price of about 100,000 euros. Of course, the customers who buy it mainly want to participate in TCR level events. After all, this car cannot be driven on the road legally.
As for the specific modifications, first of all, the engine compartment cover has been lightweighted and equipped with heat dissipation openings and quick-release locks. The front enclosure also seals off some air ducts that affect aerodynamics, leaving only the heat dissipation air intake opening in the middle. In addition, the new car is equipped with a large carbon fiber front lip to increase the vehicle's downforce. Another thing to mention is that for the sake of fairness, this front lip is actually officially designed uniformly. Each team can only make some slight adjustments to it, and the size of the front lip is also strictly required. The width must be between 1944-1950mm. The length is between 565-571mm. As for the weight of the vehicle, engineers said it will be around 1140kg.
The vehicle also obviously adopts a wide-body design. The front and rear fenders have been widened, and the relative front and rear wheel tracks have also been widened, which allows the car to have better driving stability. Wide-body modifications are actually quite common on modified cars nowadays, and there are various styles. However, as a TCR racing car, even if it is designed with a wide body, the shape of the front and rear fenders must be similar to the original factory, and the vehicle body width cannot be Over 1950mm.
The tires use Michelin PILOT SPORT S9L series, which are 100% slick tires designed for the track. The front brake caliper has also been replaced with Alcon's CAR89 six-piston caliper, which adopts a lightweight design and is very stable. It is suitable for upgrading most racing cars, and this caliper has already been used in CTCC It has been used in the arena for many years and is considered well-tested. Of course, the strength of the brakes does not only depend on the number of pistons. The key is to more flexibly adjust and distribute the front and rear braking force and release it efficiently.
The rear of the vehicle is equipped with a huge rear spoiler, which can bring strong downforce to the entire rear body. Like the front lip, the rear spoiler is also "officially customized" and must be a single-piece structure. The maximum width cannot exceed 1380mm, and the wing chord is unified to 250mm. It can be said that in terms of aerodynamics, the official restrictions of the competition are relatively strict. However, engineers also admitted that although the restrictions are strict, they can still rely on detailed adjustments to improve the overall performance of the vehicle, which is what they have been working towards.
In fact, all unnecessary interior accessories, including the entire rear row, have been removed from the car to reduce the weight of the car, and a roll cage has been welded. At the same time, it can be seen that the car is equipped with an integrated Racing seats and six-point safety belts are also equipped with fire extinguishers. All arrangements must comply with TCR competition standards.
On the far right side of the entire center console, there are many adjustment knobs, such as PEDAL mode adjustment, which can be adjusted according to different tracks.Characteristics as well as different weather put the car in different modes. As for the power adjustment knob on the far right, it has 6 adjustable levels, mainly to deal with the restriction or release of power under the BOP mechanism. Basically, each gear will have a power difference of about 5%. The reason why it is placed on the far right is because the rules stipulate that racers cannot operate these knobs during the competition and can only enter the maintenance area and let the technicians adjust them.
The MG5 XPOWER TCR racing car is equipped with the latest SAIC third-generation Blue Core 2.0T turbocharged engine, which is the same engine equipped in the new MG7, and the engine has been re-tuned. Under the limitations of the BOP mechanism, the maximum horsepower is 350Ps and the maximum torque is 445N·m; if there is no BOP limitation, the maximum horsepower can exceed 370Ps and the maximum torque exceeds 480N·m. Not only must the TCR racing engine be a mass-produced engine, but the engine cannot be modified. Even if parts that can increase power are replaced, such as fuel injectors, high-pressure oil pumps, etc., they can only be replaced with OEM parts that are the same as the original ones. As for increasing the power to the maximum limit of 350Ps, you can only adjust the engine calibration, refresh the program, and change the electronic valve, which are all quite routine operations. In other words, this may also be a hard power test for the mass-produced engines of participating manufacturers.
The MG5 XPOWER TCR racing car adopts a sequential gearbox, which has high transmission efficiency and fast shifting speed. It can be said that the sequential gearbox is the first choice for racing sports. However, there are also TCR teams that do not use sequential gearboxes, such as Audi, which still uses the original 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. In addition to the difference in gearboxes, the difference actually lies in the weight of the car. If a sequential gearbox is used, the total weight of the driver + car must not be less than 1265kg. If the original gearbox is used, then this data cannot be less than 1230kg. Although it is only 35kg, for a racing car, it is really not a small amount.
In terms of suspension, the original car uses a suspension combination of front MacPherson and rear torsion beam, but the MG5 XPOWER TCR racing car has changed the form of the rear suspension and adopted a multi-link independent suspension, and also The suspension has been modified and optimized to some extent.
Editor's comment: There are actually many restrictions on the transformation of a TCR racing car. Of course, it is precisely because of such strict restrictions that the cost of the racing car can be reduced and the racing strength of each team can be balanced. Moreover, TCR racing cars with relatively lower barriers to entry will also attract more teams and even individuals who are willing to devote themselves to motor sports, which is definitely a good thing for the promotion of motor sports. As for the MG5 XPOWER TCR racing car, it has already shown outstanding performance on the track. Let us wait and see what kind of surprise results it can bring!
According to the Bitauto App's "Popular Ranking of Own Brand Compact Cars", the MG5 Scorpio has an average daily attention of 12,000, ranking 30th in the ranking. If you need more data, please go to Bitauto App to view.