The Chrysler TC by Maserati is a two-seat, two-door convertible jointly developed by Chrysler and Maserati. Introduced at the 1986 Los Angeles Auto Show.[citation needed], the TC was positioned as a grand tourer using a "Q" body on a modified second-generation Chrysler K platform. After two years of development delays, the TC became available in late-1988 and a total of 7,300 units (the minimum required under the contract) were manufactured in Milan, Italy, through 1990. All cars sold as 1991 models were manufactured in 1990.   

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Lee Iacocca started a friendship with Alejandro de Tomaso while at Ford, which led to the De Tomaso Pantera, which had flopped because of safety concerns and limited interest from buyers.[1] During the 1980s, Iacocca headed Chrysler while De Tomaso was the owner of the historic Maserati brand. In 1983, Iacocca had considered manufacturing a knock-off of a Mercedes roadster based on a Plymouth Reliant-until he was talked out of it.[1]

In 1984, both companies signed a memorandum of understanding to create a sports coupe that ultimately became the TC, or "turbocharged coupe",[2] an "image builder" which carried the hopes that it might help overcome Chrysler's blue-collar image and attract better-heeled customers to showrooms, and a revival of the luxury reputation they enjoyed during the late 1950s to mid-1960s with the Chrysler 300 letter series coupes and convertibles.