TC | Classic Italian Cars For Sale

Time has not been kind to the Chrysler TC by Maserati. This car is kind of like the Rodney Dangerfield of the automotive realm: it gets no respect. But unlike Dangerfield, there's nothing really funny about this vehicle. I saw one of these vehicles on the road over the weekend and it got me to thinking: exactly what kind of person collects a car like this? Someone who wants a Maserati on the cheap? Fans of orphan cars? Whatever the case may be, this convertible built on a K-car chassis that can attribute its existence between the bond forged when Lee Iacocca worked with Alejandro De Tomaso on the De Tomaso Pantera sports car is a rarely seen piece these days made up of an amalgam of parts from various suppliers and automotive manufacturers. In the three years it existed, it had three different engine and transmission combinations. This 1991 model for sale in Florida sports the Chrysler V6/4-speed automatic drivetrain.

1991 Chrysler TC by Maserati

Take a look at this 1991 Chrysler TC by Maserati convertible. A real collector's car! Everything is original. Everything works: leather interior, wood accent trim, power windows, door locks and mirrors, dual power seats, rear defogger, cruise control, A/C, AM/FM/Cass w/added CD player, gas release, adjustable steering column, removable hard top. Carfax verified 32,345 miles with a Carfax buyback guarantee.

Condition report: soft top goes up manually only, some wear on the leather seats and center console, see pictures.

It seems there are a fair amount of low mileage TCs out there, even though they made just 7,300 of these cars over its production run. Did those who snapped them up when new think this would be a future collector car? Who knows. Nowadays, you can get these on the cheap. The best TC might run you around $10,000 to $12,000. This example is certainly presentable with a few flaws - mainly the convertible top - that hold it back. Somewhere around $6,000 to $7,000 will probably take it.

-Paul

There have been many collaborations between Italian and American automobile manufacturers over the years, but possibly none as maligned as much as the Chrysler TC by Maserati. Having met Alejandro DeTomaso while at Ford, Lee Iacocca collaborated with DeTomaso to build a sports car incorporating the best of Italian and American design and engineering. What resulted was the TC, a convertible based on the Dodge Daytona chassis available with three different engines throughout the car's three year production run. On offer was a 2.2 liter turbocharged engine with a 3 speed automatic, a 3.0 liter Mitsubishi V6 with a four speed automatic. The rarest engine and drivetrain combination of all was a 2.2 liter, turbocharged 16 valve four cylinder with a Maserati designed twin came head produced by Cosworth, mated to a Japanese IHI turbocharger and hooked up to a 5 speed manual Getrag transaxle. To add further diversity, the pistons in this engine were made by Mahle in Germany. The alloy wheels, while Italian, were sourced by Fondmetal, a Formula One supplier.

This was certainly an interesting vehicle, but sadly, few took notice. It also didn't help that the motoring press derided this car as little more than a warmed over Chrysler LeBaron. Only 500 TCs were made with the 2.2 liter engine with the Cosworth/Maserati designed head. There are clean examples of TCs to be had in the market, but it's quite uncommon to stumble across a low mileage example of one with the Getrag gearbox and Maserati/Cosworth engine. Here is one for sale with just under 50,000 miles in Michigan.

1990 Chrysler TC by Maserati

1990 Chrysler TC Convertible by Maserati. Only 49,000 original miles. Very rare TC with only 500 ever being built with a 5 speed Getrag manual transmission and a 16 valve Cosworth "Maserati" head on a 2.2L turbocharged inline 4 cylinder engine. The TC was a vehicle built in partnership with Chrysler's Lee Iacocca and Alejandro DeTomaso of Maserati. Produced to give the availability of a luxury sport coupe with both Italian and American heritage.

This low mileage TC is presented in brilliant red with plush hand stitched Italian leather seats. Equipped with a body colored hard top and tan soft top. Power windows, locks and mirrors. Infinity sound system, power driver and passenger seats. Leather dash, armrest and door trim and speciality designed aluminum wheels. This TC is in excellent condition throughout. Leather has less than average wear and exterior is free of rust or problem areas. Issues noted: passenger side hard top window is delaminating and the engine has a bad valve cover gasket, a very common problem but is able to be fixed. Runs and drives excellent. Starts right up and transmission shifts smooth through each gear. Vehicle is being sold as-is.

To be honest, I never liked the TC. And I still don't. But the TC has its loyal following and an active owners club, which will no doubt help in sourcing bespoke parts for this car's engine. For an enthusiast looking for something out of the mainstream, it is hard to beat the uniqueness of this vehicle for the price.

-Paul