Next Generation Touring Car, also known as NGTC and by its Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) designation TCN-1, is an FIA and TOCA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification covers national level touring car racing as the successor of BTC Touring category. The goal of the limited choices in engines and parts in the NGTC classification is to allow more manufacturers and privateers to race by reducing the cost of a competitive car and to reduce reliance on the increasingly expensive Super 2000 equipment. The only significant differences between different models is the external body shells and the use of front- or rear-wheel drive; the suspension, brakes and transmissions are common to all cars, and engines are of uniform performance.
The specification was created for use in the British Touring Car Championship and was phased in over three years from the 2011 British Touring Car Championship season. NGTC engines were first used in the 2010 season by Pinkney Motorsport, Pirtek Racing and Special Tuning UK.
The introduction of these new technical regulations were designed to fulfil the following criteria: Dramatically reduce the design, build and running costs of the cars and engines Maintain present levels of performance until 2013 to ensure performance parity with current S2000 cars until that point Reduce the potential for significant performance disparities between cars ‘Future-proof’ the regulations by being able to easily modify the various performance parameters Reduce reliance on WTCC S2000 equipment, due to increasing costs/complexity and concerns as to its future sustainability/direction
In December 2014 the FIA ratified support for technical regulations used in BTCC, designating the specification as TCN-1. The specification is a model for higher class national touring car championships to follow.
Specification
Engine The engine is a 300+ bhp 2 L turbo-charged direct injection unit using fly by wire throttle control. It is intended to have a low cost to develop, build, buy and maintain. Teams can decide whether to build their own unit to the spec, or teams can lease/purchase a ready-built TOCA-BTCC engine. The engines have an over-boost function allowing a brief increase in power output.
The NGTC engine had its first run in February 2010, during testing for the 2010 season. Pirtek Racing's Vauxhall Vectra was fitted with the engine, which performed well during a week's testing at Snetterton.
During the 2010 BTCC Season the NGTC engine was used by three teams; Pirtek Racing and Pinkney Motorsport, using a Vauxhall Vectra, and Special Tuning using a SEAT Leon.
Drivetrain Xtrac 6 speed sequential-shift gearbox. AP Racing carbon clutch. Front or Rear Wheel Drive. Originally TOCA announced that only front wheel drive cars would be eligible to take part. However, after high interest from teams running rear wheel drive cars, TOCA amended the spec to include both front and rear wheel drive cars.
Suspension Full front sub-frame incorporating suspension, brakes, transmission and engine location that attaches to specified roll cage locations. Rear sub-frame that attaches to specified roll cage locations. Multi-adjustable double wishbone suspension with coil-over dampers.
Bodyshell 2, 3, 4 or 5 door of a minimum 4.4m length. (2 or 3 door cars must share the same basic body profile as the 4/5 door model). Equalised width of 1875mm Specified front aerodynamic device incorporating flat floor, apertures for radiator, brake cooling ducts, intercooler and side exits. Specified rear wing profile. Base vehicle must be freely on sale in the UK through the manufacturer's normal dealer network Specified 18" centre-lock wheel
Brakes AP Racing specified package AP Racing specified pedal-box
Electronics Cosworth Electronics specified package incorporating ECU, dash, data-logging and scrutineering logger. Common power management box, switch panels and wiring loom design
Target Price The target price for a complete car, less engine was expected to be around £100,000 depending on final components used by each team and the running cost. The cost for a TOCA-BTCC Engine will be £25,000 with the option to be leased. However the target price is a lot higher than expected - it was reported that the car, less engine is around £200,000.
Models MakeModelImageDeveloperYears activeAlfa RomeoGiuliettaHMS Racing2018AudiA4Rob Austin Racing2011–2015S3 SaloonRotek Racing2014–2020S3 SaloonPower Maxed Racing2026–presentBMW125i M SportWest Surrey Racing2013–2020330i M Sport2019–2021330e M Sport2022–2024330i M Sport LCI2025-presentChevroletCruze (4dr)IP Tech Race Engineering2013–2017Cruze (5dr)RML Group2014CUPRALeón CompeticiónTeam HARD2021–2025FordFocus STMotorbase Performance2012–2017Focus RS2018–2019Focus ST 202020–2025Focus Titanium Saloon2026–presentHondaCivicTeam Dynamics2012–2015Civic Tourer2014Civic Type R (FK2)2015–2020Civic Type R (FK8)2018–2025Hyundaii30 Fastback N PerformanceExcelr8 Motorsport2020–presentInfinitiQ50Pro Motorsport2015–2019Q50 GTLaser Tools Racing2020–2022Mercedes-BenzA-ClassCiceley Racing2014–2020AMG A35 SaloonRML2026–presentMG6 GTTriple Eight Racing2012–2019ProtonGen-2Welch Motorsport2011Persona2012–2016SubaruLevorg GTTeam BMR2016–2019ToyotaAvensisGPRM2011–2018Corolla GTSpeedworks Motorsport2019–presentVauxhallInsigniaThorney Motorsport2011–2014AstraPower Maxed Racing2017–2025VolkswagenCCTeam HARD2013–2020 The following Next Generation Touring Cars have competed in championships: Audi A4 - Made its debut during the first round of the 2011 BTCC. Built by GPR Motorsport, Rob Austin Racing ran a single A4 for most of the season, firstly using an engine prepared by Ric Wood and then using a Lehmann-built engine from Oulton Park onwards. A second A4 was run by the team from round nine. The car took a second place during Round Eight's third race at Rockingham, after leading part of the race. For the 2012 season the car was modified by the team, with the aerodynamics being updated. For 2013 the Audi's featuring updated bodywork to reflect the road car's facelift and now using engines prepared by Field Motorsport, who maintained the Lehmann engines midway through 2012. For Oulton Park, Austin's A4 used the TOCA-BTCC engine in a bid to find extra performance. The second car of Will Bratt was fitted with the new engine at Croft. Austin took his maiden BTCC win at Rockingham later that season, Audi's first in the BTCC since 1997. Austin went on to take his second win a year later, again at Rockingham. Proton Gen-2/Proton Persona - Welch Motorsport reintroduced the Proton marque to the BTCC in 2011. This was the first appearance of the brand since 2004. Before the start of the 2012 season Welch Motorsport adapted the aerodynamics of the Proton Gen-2 to reflect the Persona model. Initially the car used the TOCA-BTCC engine, but for 2014 the team built a second car and developed an in-house engine in conjunction with X Ctech R. The engine proved to be both underpowered and unreliable, both Dan Welch and Ollie Jackson failed to score points in the drivers' championship. Toyota Avensis - First seen as a prototype in 2010 during practice for the final round at Brands Hatch. The Avensis was built by GPRM and chosen as a demo model for the BTCC to launch the new specification ahead of the 2011 championship. Dynojet and Speedworks Motorsport ran one Toyota Avensis each in 2011, driven by Frank Wrathall and Tony Hughes respectively. Dynojet's car used a Toyota-based engine built by X Ctech R while the Speedworks car used the TOCA-BTCC unit developed by Swindon Engines, which was available for lease to all entries. The car showed top 12 potential early in the season. The Avensis scored its first points at Snetterton circuit in August 2011 at the hands of Frank Wrathall. Over the course of the season, Wrathall took four podiums. In 2012, the cars were aerodynamically upgraded to reflect the design of the new Avensis and Speedworks expanded to two cars. Wrathall took the first win for the car and the first win for Toyota in 19 years. A fourth Toyota appeared on the grid for 2013. Adam Morgan's family-run team Ciceley Racing acquired Wrathall's 2011 car, fitted with a TOCA-BTCC engine. Five Toyota's made the 2014 grid. Speedworks ran one car whilst providing engineering support to Simon Belcher and Handy Motorsport. Following Frank Wrathall's conviction for causing death by careless driving, Dynojet sold the team's assets to United Autosports, entering Wrathall's race car and a second car using Wrathall's spare shell. The fifth Avensis was entered by Houseman Racing, running a TOCA-BTCC engine, after the team were forced to look for a new car following the abolition of the Super 2000 cars. Vauxhall Insignia - Thorney Motorsport introduced the Vauxhall Insignia to the BTCC during the final round of the 2011 BTCC. However, due to lack of testing time, the car failed to start any races. The car did compete in select races during the 2012 season. At the end of the season Tony Gilham Racing bought the two Insignias, with Jack Goff finishing second at the final round of 2013. In 2014 the cars changed ownership again since Tony Gilham Racing merged with BMR Restart to form Team BMR. The two Insignia's ran alongside two Volkswagen CC's for the first half of the season, until they were replaced by two more CC's.
Honda Civic - Honda Racing Team swapped to the new ninth generation Honda Civic, built fully to NGTC regulations, in the 2012 BTCC season. They were the first manufacturer backed team to announce their intention to run fully to the NGTC specification. The Honda Civic was about to be the first NGTC car to be raced in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, at the hands of Tomas Engström, but it didn't happen. At the first round of the 2012 season, the Civic became the first full NGTC specification winner. As of the end of the 2013 season the car has won in total of 10 titles for 2 seasons of racing. MG6 GT - MG KX Momentum Racing ran a pair of MG6 GT models in the 2012 British Touring Car Championship season. This made MG the second manufacturer to announce plans to run fully NGTC specification cars. Triple 8 continued to run the MG6 GTs until 2018 when they competed in the 2018 championship with AmD with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing. In 2019, Excelr8 Motorsport ran the ex-Triple 8, AmDTuning.Com MG6s. The cars were relatively backmarkers and the team only scored four points throughout the year. Ford Focus ST - Redstone Racing compete with the third generation Ford Focus ST. The car was revealed hours prior the 2012 round at Snetterton with Mat Jackson driving the car for the remainder of the 2012 season. Only one car was entered, with expansion of 2 additional cars for team for the next season. BMW 125i M Sport - West Surrey Racing are switching to NGTC spec BMW 125i cars to replace their S2000 BMW 320si that they have been running since 2007. The team will use 3 cars for the season. Volkswagen CC - Tony Gilham announced that they were going to run at least 2 VW CC cars in the 2013 season alongside their 2 Vauxhall Insignia cars with both models racing under different team label to distinguish them as separate entries. The team ran only 1 car with BMR Restart acquired the second shell, in which their driver Warren Scott raced in the second half of the season. Chevrolet Cruze 4dr - In January 2013 Andy Neate announced his intentions to continue in BTCC in 2013 under his own newly created IP Tech Race Engineering team with NGTC Chevrolet Cruze under the Club 44 banner. Unlike BTC Racing's version of the Chevrolet Cruze, the team uses the saloon version of the car. The car made its first race appearance for the season at Snetterton.