Development of the game began in 1996 and continued for the next eighteen months during which Codemasters worked closely with the British Touring Car Championship's organiser TOCA to faithfully recreate the series in the virtual world. The team, led by Gavin Raeburn, consisted of twenty-six programmers who worked six-day weeks at the rate of fourteen hours per day during the final stages of game development.
To achieve realism, the developers used laser scanning with a precision of a quarter of a millimetre to model the vehicles. The circuits were constructed using topographic surveys from the Ordnance Survey, a non-ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom responsible for mapping the United Kingdom, and photographic reference material. The resulting game engine allowed for 3,000 polygons per frame at a rate of twenty-five frames per second, featuring a damage system where car textures changed depending on whether the vehicle was intact or damaged.
The player races against fifteen AI competitors for one of the eight work teams. They participate on one of the nine circuits that feature in the championship. The vehicles in the game are super touring cars for which the player can select the gearbox setting to either automatic or manual. Three types of views can be accessed: a close-up back-end view remotely from the car, a perspective from the engine compartment, and an internal view from the passenger compartment. Selecting a car places the player in the position of the first named driver for each team, replacing that driver's name in the race standings.
The primary mode is the championship, which consists of twelve race meetings of two rounds each. Each round includes a qualifying session where the player has three laps to secure a grid position; skipping this session results in starting at the back of the field. To continue competing, players must earn at least 20 points. The game enforces driving standards through an on-screen warning system for unsportsmanlike conduct. After three warnings, points are deducted on a gradual scale, and six warnings result in disqualification from the race.
Additional modes include:
Single Race: A standalone event with adjustable laps, weather, and difficulty.
Time Trial: A mode focused on lap records where a "phantom car" appears to represent the player's previous best time. Players could publish their lap times on Codemasters's website and compare themselves to others.
Multiplayer: Supporting up to two players on the PlayStation version or eight players on the PC version via split-screen or LAN.
In 2000, a port was released for the Game Boy Color, developed by Spellbound Software and Codemasters. The Game Boy Color version offers a different game system due to the technical limitations of the platform. All circuits are unlocked from the start, and only one car per team participates in races. The handheld version also features an eight-player multiplayer mode where participants compete in turns.
The English version of the original game features commentary by the former racing driver Tiff Needell.
The game’s engine served as the basis for the design of the 1998 rallying video game Colin McRae Rally. The success of TOCA Touring Car Championship established a franchise that was immediately followed by TOCA 2 Touring Cars in 1998. The PC version was nominated for the "Best Racing Game of the Year" award at IGN's Best of 1998 Awards. Critics have noted the game’s playability and excitement, with some comparing it to titles like Ridge Racer.
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