We’ll forgive you for taking one look at this car and questioning if that’s really a Max Power-era Peugeot 106 – quite frankly, we did the same. However, this is a new bespoke touring car built especially for entry-level racing.
Meet the Chevron B1417, a new race machine designed and produced especially for the new TOCA Junior Championship, a fresh feeder series that will join the BTCC support programme for 2025.
It sounds like a pretty mega thing under the skin. It’s not based on anything else in production, instead sitting on a bespoke chassis and running a naturally-aspirated 1.9-litre four-pot engine.
Chevron B1417, rear
Perhaps oddly for a touring car feeder series, a format typically dominated by front-wheel drive cars, the B1417 sends an undisclosed amount of power to the rear axle and through a five-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. Oh and with it weighing just 850kg, it could be quite a lairy little thing. Not that many of us will get to find out.
The idea of the TOCA Junior Championship is to provide a direct route from karting into the UK’s top touring car series. If you’re particularly keen on getting behind the wheel, applications for a spot on the grid will open on 15 August and there are 26 grid slots for the inaugural season.
The BTCC has also given itself the option to expand the grid in future, in case demand outstrips supply.
Chevron B1417, interior
Alan Gow, BTCC Chief Executive, said: “This is a fantastic stepping-stone for young drivers in the UK – a vital bridge between karting and moving into the professional ranks of motorsport.
“Junior categories in this country have produced Formula 1 race winners and many drivers have gone on to have successful careers in open-wheel, touring car and GT racing – we look forward to the TOCA Junior Championship helping to continue that great tradition.”
