The little known German manufacturer 'Bitter' was responsible for a number of
GT style variants produced in the 70s and 80s. Sadly the company is no longer
around as the technique of rebodying mainstream saloons to create something more
exotic, is now very unfashionable.
The company was set up by former racing driver Eric Bitter. He founded Bitter
Automobile in 1971 importing cars from Italy including Abarth and Intermeccanica.
Falling out with Intermeccanica was the catalyst Bitter needed to fire him up
into designing his own cars and and the first Bitter hit the road in 1973.
The Bitter CD was based on an Opel Diplomat, but under the new body Bitter
stuffed a 5.4 litre V8 to give sufficient grunt. Three hundred and ninety
examples were built.
A second generation of cars was built between 1981 and 1986. Again based on
an Opel floorpan, the SC was provided with a modified suspension set up to
improve handling. Power was provided by a 180bhp engine from the Senator. 1984
saw the introduction of a 210bhp 3.9 litre motor, which boasted 50% more torque.
The first seventy nine bodyshells were made by OCRA in Italy but the quality
of the metal used was found to be unsatisfactory (remember rust?) and production
was switched to ILCA who were making panels for both Maserati and Bristol at the
time. The cars were assembled in Germany initially but production switched to
Austria in 1983.
The 1980's Bitter production run was dominated by the coupe which accounted
for 420 of the 450 cars made. 25 Cabriolets were also made as well as just 5
four door saloons. Chances of seeing one on the UK roads are slim however as
only around 25 are believed to be in the country and roadworthy.
Like so many small manufacturers, Bitter almost went out of business in 1986
and Eric Bitter spent the following years specialising in prototype production
and styling. Check out the websites listed below for pictures of some of the
prototyes which some more modern cars have certainly drawn influences. Unable to
source sufficient funding for his dreams, Bitter closed his company in 1997 and
now operates a design house working on projects for other manufacturers.
[links]Bitter|bitter[/links]