45. BMW E36 Saloon - Baur TC4 - Convertible

BMW E36 Saloon - BAUR TC4

Is it a limo? Is it a convertible? NO! IT's BMW BAUR TC4! 

Source: Wikipedia 

Baur is a Karosserie or coachbuilder in Stuttgart, Germany, which has been building BMW convertibles since the 1930s. Currently, they are the body and assembly works for IVM Automotive, a member the Ed Group. They enjoy an excellent reputation for quality and do prototype work for many manufacturers such as Porsche, Audi and Ford.

The Baur family received a patent for the design of a folding top for luxury automobiles about the time BMW was building the first car with the BMW name.

Baur was established in 1910 and produced, among others, 1682 1600-2 Cabriolets, 200 2002 Cabriolets, 2597 E110 700 Sport Cabriolets and most of the 450 or so M1's (after Lamborghini could not fulfil its contractual obligations).

Even though BMW now had its own E36 convertible, E36 Baur TC4 conversions were still available, although this iteration was based on the E36 four-door and featured fixed door frames.

These TC cars can be built for the owner at any time, after-market; you supply the car to be converted.

Quote from Bimmerforums:

The reason why Baur made this 4-door convertible is very simple: BMW wouldn't let them convert the coupe.
In total there where 310 Baur TC4 (TC1=E21, TC2=E30, TC3="Z1"-coupe) build, from 316i to 328i and 318/325tds.

And here's one more picture, from the manufacturing proces:

Here's a link to a gallery of BMW BAUR TC4 photos. Check it out, it's full of interesting photographs!

Click Here!