The Baur TC3 was a 2+2-seat sports coupé built by Karosserie Baur GmbH of Stuttgart, a company founded in 1910 that had built a reputation producing half-convertible and hardtop versions of the BMW 3 Series, and had also constructed the Bitter CD luxury coupé on the Opel Senator platform. Beyond small-series manufacturing, Baur also carried out development contracts and prototype construction, and the TC3 emerged from an initiative by brothers Heinz and Karl Baur. It rarely appeared in public.
The design was entrusted to Eberhard Schulz, founder of the German niche manufacturer Isdera, known for the Spyder sports two-seater and the Imperator luxury coupé. The TC3 was conceived as a technical showcase for Baur, though the possibility of series production was discussed, aimed at a market for a high-priced enthusiast car costing a six-figure sum in Deutschmarks. Development reportedly took 14 months and consumed a seven-figure DM investment.
Based on the BMW 325i, the TC3 had its 2.5-litre six-cylinder engine, producing 172 hp at 5800 rpm and 226 Nm at 4000 rpm, moved back by 40 cm to improve weight distribution, achieving a 50:50 balance on a wheelbase lengthened slightly to 260 cm. The plastic body, built on a tubular space frame welded at Isdera, was aerodynamically shaped with twin headlights under Plexiglas covers and achieved a drag coefficient of 0.29. It measured 447/174/126 cm in length, width and height, and featured a 2+2 interior derived from the 325i cockpit along with a spacious boot.
