Bitter Cars
Encyclopedia
Bitter is a premium sports-luxury automobile marque originally produced in Germany
and later Austria
. Founder Erich Bitter, a former race car driver turned automobile tuner, importer and ultimately designer began crafting his own vehicles after business ventures with Italian manufacture Intermeccanica
ended.
The Bitter automobile company initially produced vehicles between 1973 and 1989, selling them in Europe and the United States. Several prototypes were created by Bitter in later years with an eye on possible low-volume production, but none of those plans came to fruition until the Vero in 2007.
The Opel Diplomat
-based CD, a three-door hatchback coupe featuring a Chevrolet
327 V-8 of 227 hp, was built between 1973-1979.
The CD was first shown as an Opel styling study OPEL CD (Coupé diplomat) on Sept 9th, 1969 at the International motor show
(IAA) in Frankfurt. Designed by, Charles M. "Chuck" Jordan (OPEL Design boss 1967-1971 and later vice-president of GM) and his assistants George A. Gallion, David Holls, Herbert Killmer and Hideo Kodama, along with Erhard Fast (director/conductor of the OPEL Designstudios 3 for Advanced Design since 1964) was involved. The tail opinion is inspired by a draft of Erhard Fast for the OPEL Aero GT of 1969.
Due to large success of the IAA CD study. Opel played with the thought of building a road-suited vehicle to develop further. The doors should be replaced by normal doors, and the vehicle bumper, windshield wipers and a reuse of other Opel Diplomat parts for cost and ease of going to production. Robert "Bob" Lutz, who was head of Opel at the time, was inspired and wanted the car in production. So he commissioned Pietro Frua
to work on the revision of the Opel CD and preparation of two driveable prototypes.
In 1971, David R. "Dave" Holls (Opel design boss since 7/1971; previously assistant to Charles M. "Chuck" Jordan) encouraged Erich Bitter to build the Bitter CD. So Erich Bitter formed Bitter GMBH 1971, specifically for the CD. He started with a 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) site in his home town of Schwelm
. Since he didn't have the capital or time to set up his own production facilities, and looked for a proven independent, small scale company to build the CD. He chose Baur
of Stuttgart as they produced prototypes and limited production runs for several well known German companies. They possessed the necessary experience, had the capacity to build the car, and their build quality was impressive.
Erich Bitter drew some designs based on the Frua CD before he decided on later style elements. The basic changes of the Frua CD vis-à-vis Opel CD of 1969 in the Bitter CD design, were to cut off stern, modify the windshield and reduce the amount of chrome. Dave Holls and Opels team of designers, supplemented the design with a small front spoiler, added a larger grill, set the bumpers higher and extended the lower edge of the rear side windows to the rear window. Final testing and trials were done at the Opel Test Facility in Duden yards, along with simulated duration load tests initiated by Erich Bitter that were carried out on the Hydropulser in Baur in Stuttgart. The team at Baur performed also in addition considerable constructive and production technical product development inclusive the building of a hard foam model to mock up the body shell.
Baur's role in building the CD included making the body panels, assembling the shell, trimming and fitting the interior, and mating the Opel Diplomat running gear to the shell.
The Bitter CD was displayed, very successfully, at the 73' Frankfurt Motor Show, where Erich Bitter took 176 orders for his stylish new car. Unfortunately, the oil crisis soon after hit his plans and most orders were cancelled. Even though many of the orders were cancelled production commenced in late 1973 at Baur GMBH in Stuttgart. While production never reached the target of 200 cars per year, by the beginning of 1975 Bitter had built 100 CDs. By this time the oil crisis had receded and CD sales continued through to 1979.
1979 production ended with a total production of 395, (1973: 6 - 1974: 99 - 1975: 79 - 1976: 73 - 1977: 71 - 1978: 30 - 1979: 37), as well as 5 raw car bodies for the warehouse. Purchase price in 1974 was 58,400 DM.
An active car club exists today for the CD and SC Bitter Models at: http://www.bittercars.com
, and was sold from 1979-1989 as a coupe, sedan and convertible. The SC was powered by a fuel-injected Opel 3.0 l-I6 (177 hp) or a stroked 3.9 l-I6 that developed 207 hp. Body design seems to have been heavily influenced by Ferrari
`s 400i
.
The first SC model to appear was the Coupe (1979), followed by the Convertible (1982) and the Sedan (1984). Production lasted until 1989 with 461 Coupes, 22 Convertibles and only 5 Sedans built.
In 1984 it was announced at the New York Auto Show that Bitter would enter into a limited marketing agreement with General Motors in North America to market the sedan in the United States through participating Buick dealerships. A major reason for the venture was GM hoped to take back market share that was being lost to BMW at the time, but concerns were the Opel line was too entry level for the task. Ultimately, less than a dozen Buick dealers, mostly in the metro New York City area, would bear Bitter signage and few Bitter cars were actually sold in the U.S. [www.automotiveforums.com/t665140-gm_muscle_performance_list_from_ 1973_1985.html]
The ultimate failure of the Bitter brand was rooted in its business model. As was popular in the late 1970s and 1980s, rebodied vehicles from other manufactures gave rise to smaller automobile companies. The Bitter vehicles were based on components from Opel
. This approach became unpopular in the late 1980s and doomed the brand.
Source: autolists.com
Holden VE Commodore SS sedan.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and later Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Founder Erich Bitter, a former race car driver turned automobile tuner, importer and ultimately designer began crafting his own vehicles after business ventures with Italian manufacture Intermeccanica
Intermeccanica
Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica is an automobile manufacturer, founded by Frank Reisner initially based in Italy but subsequently moving to Canada. It is currently headed by Frank's son, Henry Reisner.-Founding:...
ended.
The Bitter automobile company initially produced vehicles between 1973 and 1989, selling them in Europe and the United States. Several prototypes were created by Bitter in later years with an eye on possible low-volume production, but none of those plans came to fruition until the Vero in 2007.
Bitter CD
Opel Diplomat
The Opel Diplomat is a large car manufactured by Opel. Opel's range-topping models were traditionally the Admiral and Kapitän, introduced in 1937 and 1938 respectively....
-based CD, a three-door hatchback coupe featuring a Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
327 V-8 of 227 hp, was built between 1973-1979.
Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung
The Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung , also known as the Frankfurt Motor Show or Frankfurt Auto Show, is one of the world's largest motor shows. It is held biennially in Frankfurt, Germany. The show occupies 12 buildings.The IAA is organized by the Association of the German Automotive Industry...
(IAA) in Frankfurt. Designed by, Charles M. "Chuck" Jordan (OPEL Design boss 1967-1971 and later vice-president of GM) and his assistants George A. Gallion, David Holls, Herbert Killmer and Hideo Kodama, along with Erhard Fast (director/conductor of the OPEL Designstudios 3 for Advanced Design since 1964) was involved. The tail opinion is inspired by a draft of Erhard Fast for the OPEL Aero GT of 1969.
Due to large success of the IAA CD study. Opel played with the thought of building a road-suited vehicle to develop further. The doors should be replaced by normal doors, and the vehicle bumper, windshield wipers and a reuse of other Opel Diplomat parts for cost and ease of going to production. Robert "Bob" Lutz, who was head of Opel at the time, was inspired and wanted the car in production. So he commissioned Pietro Frua
Pietro Frua
Pietro Frua was one of the leading Italian coachbuilders and car designers during the 1950s and 1960s.-Early years:...
to work on the revision of the Opel CD and preparation of two driveable prototypes.
Schwelm
Schwelm is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis in the administrative region of Arnsberg within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.It's a town that's noted for the famed basketball player Virgil Matthews.-Geography:...
. Since he didn't have the capital or time to set up his own production facilities, and looked for a proven independent, small scale company to build the CD. He chose Baur
Karosserie Baur
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...
of Stuttgart as they produced prototypes and limited production runs for several well known German companies. They possessed the necessary experience, had the capacity to build the car, and their build quality was impressive.
Erich Bitter drew some designs based on the Frua CD before he decided on later style elements. The basic changes of the Frua CD vis-à-vis Opel CD of 1969 in the Bitter CD design, were to cut off stern, modify the windshield and reduce the amount of chrome. Dave Holls and Opels team of designers, supplemented the design with a small front spoiler, added a larger grill, set the bumpers higher and extended the lower edge of the rear side windows to the rear window. Final testing and trials were done at the Opel Test Facility in Duden yards, along with simulated duration load tests initiated by Erich Bitter that were carried out on the Hydropulser in Baur in Stuttgart. The team at Baur performed also in addition considerable constructive and production technical product development inclusive the building of a hard foam model to mock up the body shell.
Baur's role in building the CD included making the body panels, assembling the shell, trimming and fitting the interior, and mating the Opel Diplomat running gear to the shell.
The Bitter CD was displayed, very successfully, at the 73' Frankfurt Motor Show, where Erich Bitter took 176 orders for his stylish new car. Unfortunately, the oil crisis soon after hit his plans and most orders were cancelled. Even though many of the orders were cancelled production commenced in late 1973 at Baur GMBH in Stuttgart. While production never reached the target of 200 cars per year, by the beginning of 1975 Bitter had built 100 CDs. By this time the oil crisis had receded and CD sales continued through to 1979.
1979 production ended with a total production of 395, (1973: 6 - 1974: 99 - 1975: 79 - 1976: 73 - 1977: 71 - 1978: 30 - 1979: 37), as well as 5 raw car bodies for the warehouse. Purchase price in 1974 was 58,400 DM.
An active car club exists today for the CD and SC Bitter Models at: http://www.bittercars.com
Bitter SC
Like the CD, the SC was based on Opel's biggest contemporary model, this time on the Opel SenatorOpel Senator
The Opel Senator was a large automobile, two generations of which were sold in Europe by Opel, from 1978 until 1993. A saloon, its first incarnation was also available with a fastback coupé body as the Opel Monza and Vauxhall Royale Coupe....
, and was sold from 1979-1989 as a coupe, sedan and convertible. The SC was powered by a fuel-injected Opel 3.0 l-I6 (177 hp) or a stroked 3.9 l-I6 that developed 207 hp. Body design seems to have been heavily influenced by Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
`s 400i
Ferrari 400
The Ferrari 400 and Ferrari 412 are front-engined 2+2 coupé cars from Italian manufacturer Ferrari. They were available with 5-speed all synchromesh or an optional 3-speed automatic transmission unit from General Motors. Their design was derived from the almost identical looking 365 GT4 2+2...
.
The first SC model to appear was the Coupe (1979), followed by the Convertible (1982) and the Sedan (1984). Production lasted until 1989 with 461 Coupes, 22 Convertibles and only 5 Sedans built.
In 1984 it was announced at the New York Auto Show that Bitter would enter into a limited marketing agreement with General Motors in North America to market the sedan in the United States through participating Buick dealerships. A major reason for the venture was GM hoped to take back market share that was being lost to BMW at the time, but concerns were the Opel line was too entry level for the task. Ultimately, less than a dozen Buick dealers, mostly in the metro New York City area, would bear Bitter signage and few Bitter cars were actually sold in the U.S. [www.automotiveforums.com/t665140-gm_muscle_performance_list_from_ 1973_1985.html]
The ultimate failure of the Bitter brand was rooted in its business model. As was popular in the late 1970s and 1980s, rebodied vehicles from other manufactures gave rise to smaller automobile companies. The Bitter vehicles were based on components from Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
. This approach became unpopular in the late 1980s and doomed the brand.
Source: autolists.com
Bitter Vero
In 2007, Erich Bitter is offering a new model, in a comeback of the brand. The Bitter Vero is derived from the Holden WM Caprice. The car has different front and rear parts, 20 inch wheels, new suspension and a leather interior with DVD player in the headrest. The V8 6.0 l 362 ch (266 kW) with six-speed automatic transmission of the Caprice is unchanged. The car is offered for €121,975.Vero Sport
Bitter Cars unveiled a "Vero Sport" at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Unlike the regular Holden WM Caprice-derived Vero, the Sport is based on the short-wheelbaseWheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
Holden VE Commodore SS sedan.