bitter cars
welcome to the bitter cars website. this website is dedicated to erich bitter and all the fantastic cars and prototypes he built. the website tells the story about erich bitter, his youth in schwelm, his bicycle and automobile racing career and his links with abarth, intermeccanica, nsu and opel with special attention for the opel styling cd and frua cd prototypes. you find detailed information about the bitter cd, bitter sc coupe, bitter sc cabriolet, bitter sc sedan, bitter blazer, bitter super aero, bitter rallye, bitter type 3, bitter tasco, bitter berlina, bitter gt1, bitter cd2, bitter vero, bitter vero sport, insignia by bitter, adam by bitter and mokka by bitter. you also find information on books about bitter, a list of articles about bitter with some low and high resolution scans and a list of links to other websites of clubs, related brands, spare part suppliers, etc. with some special attention for the two clubs, the bitter club international and the bitter owners club. the events section contains an agenda with events of the bitter clubs or other events where bitter cars or people are involved. the registry is a password protected database of all bitter cars we know about. the for sale section allows bitter owners to sell their car to a dedicated audience of bitter enthusiasts or allows you to find your dream car. the news section contains the latest news about bitter, the clubs or individuals. the forum allows bitter enthusiasts to share any kind of information about their favourite cars .
in october 2007 erich bitter presented the bitter vero to the press and the bitter enthusiasts community in his former hometown of schwelm. two silver bitter veros were presented during an impressive show with the bitter horsepower phylosophy as theme .
however, gm holden media relations national manager john lindsay said bitter bought the cars directly from them .
bitter has a picture of a bitter - badged new insignia on their website, hinting towards a possible next generation bitter insignia. [ 11 ]
former racer erich bitter strikes a deal with gm, turning the statesman into the new bitter vero .
specialist car builder and former racer erich bitter has been using general motors cars for some time and from this month is making a performance bitter vero model from a statesman donor .
in 2009 erich bitter managed to impress the european opel management with the superb interior of the vero and negociations started about offering a high end opel insignia with bitter finish. for marketing reasons the cars would not carry a unique bitter name but were offered as
insignia by bitter
.
2003 was also the year of the 30th anniversary of the bitter cd and the 70th anniversary of erich bitter himself. in august 2003 the bitter club international organised a big surprise party in erich bitter' s hometown of schwelm .
bitter this year took the wraps off his statesman - based bitter vero in his former hometown of schwelm. the company also unveiled a new philosophy,' bitter horsepower.'
bitter produced a luxury version of the opel insignia opc between 2010 and 2013 as the bitter insignia. [ 10 ]
the bitter name has had a more recent reincarnation based on holden cars as the vero and vero sport (2007 - 2012) .
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erich bitter wouldn' t be erich bitter if he gave up easily. in 2007 he came back with the bitter vero, a big four door saloon based on the australian holden statesman. the car was presented to the press and the bitter enthusiasts community during an impressive show with the bitter horsepower phylosophy as theme .
this is where you can view and compare all the cars in your list .
jaguar is now going back in time to create electric cars of the future .
scrappage scheme bargain cars you should bag now as the deals end s ...
former racing driver eric bitter formed bitter automotive in 1971, importing italian cars including abarth and intermeccanica. as has been the history of german / italian ventures, a falling out occurred between bitter and intermeccanica, leading the german to find a less argumentative partner in producing executive gts - namely himself .
bitter currently produces luxury versions of the opel adam and opel mokka. the bitter adam (marketed as
adam by bitter
) has been produced since 2013. production of the bitter mokka (marketed as
mokka by bitter
begun in 2016. the name was changed to mokka x (marketed as
mokka x by bitter
) in late 2016 along with a facelift, just like the opel and vauxhall versions. [ 10 ]
the
insignia by bitter
was presented in 2010. the first
insignia by bitter
was based on an opel insignia limousine. in 2011 the
insignia by bitter
based on the opel insignia sports tourer followed .
nice price or crack pipe: 1985 bitter sc for $ 8, 995 .
in 1962 erich bitter launched a company called rallye - bitter to specialise in the marketing of tuning kits and car accessories. the business flourished and rallying equipment and his own bitter
nomex
rally suits were added to the product range .
the bitter vero is based on the holden statesman. changes include different front and rear
in 1983 erich bitter, george gallion and eberhard schultz started working on the bitter rallye. as with the bitter cd and bitter sc they also used proven mechanics from opel. the donor car for the rallye was the opel manta b. one of the main reasons was the front engine with rear - wheel drive configuration. the first prototype was built by isdera and was presented in 1984 under the name
bitter gt
.
if you believe them, there will be a lot of self - driving cars on the road by 2020 .
at first the bitter vero had to be ordered directly from the erich bitter automobile gmbh in ennepetal but in 2008 three dealers were appointed in germany and one in the czech republic .
approximately 10 bitter veros were built when it was decided to stop the production in 2009 .
erich bitter automobil gmbh (bitter) is a premium sports - luxury automobile marque produced in germany and later austria. founder erich bitter, a former racing driver turned automobile tuner, importer and ultimately designer began crafting his own vehicles after business ventures with italian manufacture intermeccanica ended .
technical base for the bitter vero sport was the australian holden commodore ve. unlike with the bitter cd2 the bitter vero sedan was immediately presented in left - hand drive configuration. the holden commodore ve itself was built in both right - hand drive and left - hand drive configurations .
the little red bitter rallye is in private hands and can occasionally be seen on car shows .
autovillage has a huge database of used cars, from dealers both local and far away, who sell their used cars through our site. this means we can provide you with a wide selection of used cars to choose from. therefore if you are thinking of buying a second hand car in yorkshire and humberside or any make of used car we can help .
electrically - powered cars are the fastest growing car sector in the uk, according to the latest new vehicle registration data .
with only 462 bitter sc coupes produced, and who knows how many on this side of the atlantic, you' re also joining a club that is very exclusive by means of sheer obscurity. take your bitter sc to a local “cars and coffee, ” and 99 percent of the attendees are going to be confused .
erich bitter was born in 1933 at schwelm, 30 miles east of düsseldorf in central western germany .
. the intermeccanicas were so poorly built that bitter almost went broke trying to keep his customers mobile .
just a little retouching here and there... and walla. . bitter vero! : s
bitter could not find a german company to produce the bodyshells and interiors for the sc, and turned to italy. he formed a company called
bitter italia
to organise and finance the manufacture of sc bodies and interiors ready for their mating to the opel mechanical components at bitter' s works at schwelm .
the next car produced was the bitter sc which entered production in 1981, based on the opel senator with a coupé body designed by bitter and v6 engine tuned and increased from 3. 0 to 3. 9 litres. further options included a cabriolet, a long wheelbase four door version and a very rare four wheel drive model. production ran until 1986 at which point 450 bitter scs had been built. bitter continued with projects such as the rallye and type iii which never came to fruition and in 1992, amid financial problems, bitter cars effectively ceased to exist. the most likely reason for the brand' s failure was the unpopularity of the practice of building cars on existing running gear. ironically the practice of using shared platforms across a range of models and brands is now commonplace with today' s multinational car makers and we can only conclude that bitter' s approach was simply years before its time .
oh boy, have i got a hell of an oddity for this installment. this is like buying a piece of luggage at a thrift store only to discover a secret stash compartment full of blow and cindi lauper tapes wrapped up in some bell bottoms... it just leaves you feeling very confused as to what exactly happened here and what that person' s definition of a good time was. that awkward analogy aside, today' s piece is on the bitter sc. oh, you don' t know about bitter cars? or about erich bitter, the man behind the company? well pull up a chair, stay a while, and listen. what is
bitter cars
?
but the future of cars is a riddle within an enigma, as the industry sits at a crossroads facing several divergent futures—driven vs. self - driving, private vs. shared, gas vs. electric. here are three questions that will shape the future of cars .
the bitter company was started in the 1970s by erich bitter with a commitment to produce opels that featured re - designed bodies. the sc was a model launched by bitter in 1979. the sc stood for senator coupe and was a car that took its styling from the biggest opel vehicle of the time, the opel senator .
the biggest visible modification is the new nose with a large, low - mounted grille and massive bitter logo .
between 1987 and 1997 erich bitter produced several prototypes (see
other projects
) but he could not raise sufficient finance to put them into production. his company ceased trading in 1997, but bitter still works in car design and engineering heading his own sub contracting company employing 50 people. the bitter gmbh builds prototypes for vw .
when you buy a bitter, you' re also buying into the triumphant story of erich bitter, german racer / businessman who beat the odds to build a series of low - volume cars - - the sporty cd, the luxe sc, and … well, some lightly modified holdens. on second thought, we' ll call it a relatively triumphant story .
in 1986 erich bitter wanted to relaunch the development of his baby bitter but the imminent production stop of the opel manta meant that he would have to find another suitable donor car. eventually only one car was built and erich bitter started working on his next project, i. e. the type3 based on the brand new opel omega .
at the 2003 geneva motor show, bitter displayed a holden monaro / pontiac gto based coupe, called the cd ii .
the vero can only be ordered directly from bitter in germany where it will cost almost as much as a maserati quattroporte .
it took the major players in the industry decades to figure out that all these attributes could be combined in cars that drove well and were reliable, but still elicited a primal reaction in drivers. in the late 1970s, erich bitter, a german - born racer and businessman, saw the need for such a car and went to work creating limited - production cars for discerning buyers who weren’t satisfied with a rolling compromise .
we just sell him the cars and he then customises them and resells. we don' t get involved in the tech or design side .
japan’s smallest carmaker does not currently have a promise around self - driving cars — and is planning its first plug - in hybrid electric car next year .
in the early eighties erich bitter thought there was a gap in the market of compact sports cars. the mgs and triumphs of the sixties and seventies had disappeared and the toyota mr2 and mazda mx5 were not born yet. there was of course the beautiful alfa romeo spider. the idea was not entirely new. with the bitter super aero there was a first attempt to approch this market in 1978 .
by 1983, all bitter’s manufacturing was being handled by steyr - daimler - puch in graz, austria. bitter had designed sedan and convertible versions of the sc, and it was determined that outsourcing the final assembly was the only viable option. all scs were still delivered to schwelm for final inspection and test drives, but no manufacturing was being done at the headquarters. by this point, three to four cars a week were being built, and the sc could certainly be deemed a success. in 1984, erich bitter teamed up with chicago - based real - estate millionaire lee miglin to bring the cars to the united states. this is where our story really picks up .
bitter was heavily influenced in his design of the cd by the stunning opel styling cd of 1969 and frua' s more practical interpretation shown at frankfurt in 1970. these cars offered exotic design and a reliable american v8 engine. after his earlier experiences, bitter had seen that the combination of eye catching styling and reliable, well proven running gear could work. bitter sought the willing help of dave holls, opel' s head of styling, in turning the great potential of the frua cd into a car for the seventies .
perhaps the most bitter pill for jaguar purists to swallow: this new electric version is faster than the original e - type .
a few weeks later the bitter vero was officially revealed to a wider audience on the 2007 essen motor show. on the 2008 geneva motorshow a silver and a dark red bitter vero were on display. on the 2009 geneva motorshow three bitter veros were on display, i. e. a white vero sedan, an anthractite vero sedan and a brand new green - blue vero sport .
in 2013 there was again a big party in schwelm for the 80th birthday of erich bitter. this
80 years old youngtimer
was of course the center of all activities and attention. the parking lot of the hotel was completely filled with bitters. some enthusiasts even brought several cars including some unique prototypes. there even was a rebuilt
schwarze witwe
and a preview of the upcoming
adam by bitter
.
check out our bitter cd ii photo gallery with 1 hq pics. last update in cd ii gallery: 2005 - 03 - 11
from 1981 to 1983 bitter' s assembly staff mated the opel engine, transmission, suspension, axles, brakes, wheels, etc with the turin supplied bodies and interiors. bitter was initially able to build only one car a week, but output doubled later in 1982. erich bitter was looking to expand. the prototype sc cabriolet was already on the scene and he had plans for a 4 - door version, as well as a new compact convertible called the bitter rallye which was to be based on opel' s manta. the one acre site in schwelm was unable to cope with the projected expansion, and bitter started to look for production elsewhere. in early 1983 he found steyr daimler puch at graz in austria who managed to build 3 to 4 cars a week until late 1985 when money became tight and production eased right down .
experts from the investment bank’s “evidence lab” made the prediction after tearing apart one of the current generation of electric cars to examine the economics of electric vehicles (evs) .
they found that costs of producing evs were far lower than previously thought but there is still great potential to make further savings, driving down the price of electric cars .
on the 2003 geneva motor show, however, erich bitter surprised the automobile audience presenting a new stylish coupé based on the australian holden monaro. the bitter cd2 has attracted a lot of attention of the press but after 3 consecutive appearances in geneva the project was again cancelled .
in 1971, it was david r .
dave
holls (opel design boss since 7 / 1971; previously assistant to chuck jordan) who encouraged erich bitter to build the bitter cd. as a result, bitter gmbh was formed in 1971 to market the cd. he based his company on a 1 - acre (4, 000 m 2) site in his home town of schwelm, germany .
however, because he did not have the necessary capital and other resources to set up his own production facilities, bitter turned to baur gmbh in stuttgart, as a proven independent small - scale manufacturer. he selected them given their ability to produce high - quality prototypes and limited production cars for other german manufacturers .
initially erich bitter considered a design embodying strong frontal overtones of the cd with a more practical, but less attractive, back half using a more compact estate car style. bitter dropped this concept in favour of the rough sc design which he sketched in the late sixties. bitter' s design was finally refined for production by opel stylists henry haga and george gallion. at the outset of the detailed sc design programme bitter enlisted the help of italian stylist michelotti to carry out the engineering detailing for the body. the sc was aerodynamically tested in pininfarina' s wind tunnel .
the rakish lines had been penned by erich bitter himself in the late' 60s, while working on the cd; michelotti executed some of the engineering details needed to make bitter' s sketch a reality, while opel stylists henry haga and george gallion refined some of the body details .
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the cd was introduced at the end of 1973 after a very successful showing at the frankfurt motor show of september 1973. a euphoric erich bitter took 176 orders for his stylish new car at the show, but the oil crisis soon after hit his plans for six and most orders were cancelled. production never reached the 200 cars per year target but by the beginning of 1975 bitter had built 100 cd' s. with the effects of the oil crisis receding, cd sales continued and in 1976 the production of 254 cars (total) was celebrated in a public advertisement :
wir freuen uns über die produktion des 254. wagens
.
like many other car companies, daimler—the maker of mercedes—sees an opportunity in moving their business toward ride - hailing with self - driving cars at the core of the operation. daimler cut a deal with uber in january to partner on self - driving cars. and in april, they announced another one with bosch to deliver autonomous taxis to the road in 2021 .
honda has promised to have fully autonomous cars on the road by 2025. along the way, the company plans to have lower level self - driving features such as supercharged cruise control in cars by 2020. that’s several years behind its competitors. but hey: it’s no sure thing that the first - generation of autonomous vehicles are going to be a success .
ask the man who owns one michael gabriel is the proprietor of classic motor cars inc. , in oxnard, california, specializing in the service and restoration classic european cars. why i like it: “besides the obvious sentimental connection, i like the fact that it clearly looks like something special without hitting you in the face with it. ” why it’s collectible: exotic styling with german engineering was a rare combination in the 1980s. these are still off most collectors’ radar, but with other german marques climbing quickly in value, that may not last forever. restoring / maintaining: knowing someone like gabriel will go a long way if you own a bitter. there isn’t a large knowledge base in this country, but he is more than willing to offer his expert advice, plus he has a stockpile of new / old parts. beware: cars serviced by techs familiar with similar german cars, but not with the peculiarities unique to bitter. modifying it to work like a mercedes will lead to headaches not easily reversed. expect to pay: concours - ready, $ 15, 000; solid driver, $ 10, 000; tired runner, $ 6000. join the club: bitter owners club, bitter - owners - club. com; in north america, gabriel is the hub; classicmotorcars @ urltoken
two doors, two rows of seats, five spokes on the wheels... yes, the ferrari 412 practically is the bitter sc coupe .
tata motors, india’s largest carmaker, has asked indian authorities to test an autonomous vehicle, but many people are skeptical that self - driving cars will work well on india’s chaotic roads .
in august 2016, ford promised a fully self - driving car —sans steering wheel—by 2021. the company reaffirmed that commitment this spring. ford’s plan is to have self - driving cars available in some sort of ride - sharing fleet. the company is also aggressively investing in and snatching up startup companies working on the foundational technologies for self - driving cars like sensors and maps .
building cars is an expensive business and erich bitter did not have a car plant. having been inspired by some of opel' s prototypes from 1969 and 1970 based on the opel cd, bitter persuaded them to let him develop the model after they had dropped their own production plans. opel engineers helped with the design and unsurprisingly the engine was sourced from gm, being a chevrolet 5. 4 litre v8. assembly of the car was entrusted to baur of stuttgart, a renowned coachbuilder .
the bitter cd was displayed, with great success, at the 1973 frankfurt motor show, where erich bitter took 176 orders for his stylish new coupe. however, the oil crisis at the time led to the cancellation of most orders. despite this, production commenced late the same year at baur gmbh. the target of 200 units / year was never realised and, in total, bitter sold 395 units. purchase price in 1974 was 58, 400 dm .
the bank predicts this will be achieved as customers opt for higher specification vehicles, making electric cars a viable business proposition, with upmarket evs likely to be more profitable than mid - range versions .
even though plans began in 1977, the first scs didn' t come to fruition until 1981; the previous model, the cd, ceased in 1979, and bodybuilder baur looked elsewhere for work in 1980. when a german carrozzeria could not be found, bitter turned to italy, and formed bitter italia to build bodies and interiors for final assembly at the works in schwelm. this came back to bite bitter: the body and assembly were sub - contracted to a company utilizing recycled steel, making the early cars rust - prone. in 1982, bitter handed the contract over to maggiore, also in turin; later still, steyr - daimler - puch in graz, austria, got the nod. the leather interiors, with bespoke chairs and interior trimmings covered in leather, were also sourced in turin, made by salt .
bitter specialises in rebodying other manufacturer' s vehicles and its initial production was between 1973 and 1989, selling vehicles in europe and the united states. thereafter, several prototypes followed with an eye on resuming low - volume production, but none of those plans came to fruition until the launch of the bitter vero in 2007 .
gone are the days when you used to have to dedicate hours of searching in order to find a good deal on a used car. now you can be presented with hundreds of used cars with the click of the mouse. autovillage has done a great deal in the way of simplifying the process as much as possible. you can personalise your search as much as you want meaning that you will not have to sift through numerous cars which will be of no interest to you, you do not have to deal with pushy sales persons whilst all the while providing the best prices online for used cars .
bitter announced at the motor show in new york in 1984 that it would sell the sedan version of the sc in the us. to do this bitter entered into a partnership with the american motor giants, gm. the car should have been sold through buick dealerships across the country. the reasoning behind the agreement was to offer european luxury cars into the highly lucrative and expanding us market. the importation of opel models was dismissed as impractical because of the' entry - level' branding, which compared to bmw was not competitive. sales did not take off of the sc, and this was put down to the fact that fewer than 12 buick dealerships took up the bitter sc option .
in the summer of 2018 we can expect to see a new
insignia by bitter
based on the insignia b grand sport and insignia b sports tourer models .
the hatchback consists of an all glass liftgate with external hinges and a bitter badge in the lower center. the taillights look like they were sourced from an italian car .
erich bitter was a race driver, and successful businessman. this german entrepreneur' s love of all things automotive led him to produce his own marque of luxury car .
the bitter cd, a three - door hatchback coupe featuring a 227 hp (169 kw) chevrolet v8 with a 327ci displacement, was built between 1973 - 1979 .
the self - driving revolution is like a massive west coast earthquake—experts claim it’s practically inevitable, but nobody can say for sure when or what it will look like. business insider intelligence predicts there will be 10 million self - driving cars on the road in three years. in 10 years, about a quarter of miles driven in the united states could be in self - driving electric cars, according to boston consulting group .
in late 1968 opel invited bitter to drive a new rekord with 150bhp under the bonnet. dressed in black and first nicknamed
the taxi
but later also
schwarze witwe (black widow )
, the saloon was more than a match for higher group porsches with bitter setting the fastest lap in its class. those races in the rekord forged links with gm' s german management, links that would prove to be valuable in the years ahead. bitter won both friends and respect at the russelheim car maker .
mazda might be the only true contrarian among the traditional automakers: they still want to make cars that you buy and drive. they are only interested in developing driver - assistance technology, their ceo said in april .
in 2001 there were some rumours about a possible appearance on the 2001 frankfurt motor show with a left hand drive holden hsv with bitter badge. apparently this project was cancelled prematurely .
we don' t have a realistic grasp of how much replacement opel running gear costs, but the cool part about getting into bitter sc ownership is that, instead of paying out the nose for a colombo v12 rebuild, you can just buy another bitter sc (or two) for parts cars. no, we' re not talking about sourcing your spares from clapped - out bitters (if such things exist). you can buy a pretty nice 1984 example for south of $ 13, 000, and that' s at the high end of what we' ve seen .
lthough the costs of evs and current cars will be the same for motorists by 2018, manufacturers will not reach parity until 2023, when they will make 5pc margins on evs - about equal to the profit on current vehicles .
bitter was a company started by erich bitter in the 1970s in germany. originally a racing driver, erich was essentially persuaded to start the bitter company to produce rebodied opels. the advantage of this was they could use the sleeker, sexier coupe body that was designed but never made without having to worry about the minimum sales gm / opel would require to build one themselves. other bodystyles would be offered, but the focus of their first product was to make a c oupe version of the d iplomat. so in one of the least - inspired moves of all time, their first car was called the bitter cd. it sounds like an awful thing to put in a car, yet it was actually the name of a car .
it was only natural that erich bitter (erstwhile racer, tuner and sports - car importer) would continue his relationship with opel as he worked up a replacement for his sporty cd .
in german, bitte means please. as nice price or crack pipe knows, bitter means rare and cool executive coupes, including today' s sc which has a price that may please .
his first venture, the cd, was on a shortened opel diplomat platform with a body built by german manufacturer bauer. it featured a chevrolet 327 - cubic - inch v - 8 with retuned suspension. although well received at the 1973 frankfurt auto show, it began life at exactly the wrong time. bitter received orders for 176 cds at the frankfurt show alone, but the oil crunch hit shortly thereafter, meaning most orders for the thirsty v - 8s were cancelled. nevertheless, production continued on the cd until 1979. in total, bitter built 395 cars and established himself as a real entity in the business .
bitter was a small - scale automotive manufacturer in the 70' s and 80' s. the 2008 vero is the first production car from them in almost 20 years. the bitter vero is a luxury car based on the holden statesman (pontiac g8). the most notable changes to the car include new front and rear bumpers. the new oval grill is larger and positioned low down in the bumper. under the bonnet is an aluminium 6. 0 litre v8 developing 360 horsepower, this is mated to a five - speed automatic gearbox driving the 20 inch rear wheels. inside, the bitter vero has been fitted with more luxurious trimmings including a dvd player and television. the bitter vero is essentially a lightly modified holden statesman with a vastly superior price tag .
if the future of cars is self - driven and privately owned, then millions of americans will still want their cars to be beautiful status symbols and top - flight machines, like a tesla. but if the majority of cars are self - driven and publicly owned—for example, if urban residents pay for a municipal fleet of autonomous vehicles that effectively operates as an on - demand, above - ground subway—then a luxury brand like tesla might not be so lucky. people tend not to care what kind of vehicle they’re riding in for 10 minutes, as long as the trip is safe and efficient and the car doesn’t smell. if the future of getting around is a network of autonomous cars, then local governments or private - sector car - sharing networks will mass - order the cheapest, sufficiently safe self - driving vehicles they can. and, given the state of most buses and subways, americans who take public transit are not particularly fussy about the aesthetics .
evs matching the cost of conventionally fuelled cars sooner than expected will send a seismic shock throughout the sector, from manufacturers right down through their supply chains, with ubs warning “the' time to get ready' and win in the space shrinks” .
the arrangement erich bitter had with baur of stuttgart to build the cd for him came to an end when the last cd' s came off the production line at the beginning of 1979. as no bitters were built for almost two years in 1979 and 1980, baur took on other work to fill the gap left by cd production and bitter had to find another company to build the sc .
in 1984, bitter announced at the new york auto show that it would enter into a limited marketing agreement with gm to sell the sedan version in the united states, through participating buick dealerships. by being able to offer a premium european product, gm had hoped to (re) gain market share lost to bmw at the time. the option of importing opel cars was dismissed on the basis that it was perceived to be an entry - level brand, relative to bmw' s premium status. ultimately, less than a dozen buick dealers (mostly in the metro new york city area), would bear the bitter signage as a result of which sales proved minimal. [ 4 ] bitter' s failure was based on its business model, and the diminishing trend of rebodying other manufacturers' vehicles, which became unpopular by the 1980s .
bitter had equally firm ideas about using proven opel mechanical components. he believed that an opel floorplan and running gear was one of his car' s strongest selling points. few top - of - the market alternatives offered supercar aesthetics and interior opulence combined with everyday reliability, argued bitter .
i want a beautiful, fast car, but i also want to get in it and drive away .
in 2007, bitter resumed small - scale production by launching the vero at the 2008 geneva motor show. this car was derived from the australian - made holden caprice (wm) sedan (the long - wheelbase luxury derivative of the holden commodore (ve) ), believed to be purchased directly from holden thanks to erich bitter' s friendship with holden' s former peter hanenberger. [ 6 ]
ah, the ferrari 400 / 412 series. their rear wheels powered by front - mounted v12s, these cars were built the way god and enzo intended, and then wrapped in sheetmetal that is - - to say the very least - - controversial .
only a few hundred of these vehicles were made, and although handsome looking, they were not considered' head - turners.' these cars were also relatively expensive to buy and were never real competition to bmw or mercedes in the premium car market .
demand is being fuelled by tightening global emissions regulations, which have seen several countries commit to banning the sale of new cars with conventional engines by 2040, though this does not necessarily exclude hybrids which use a combination of internal combustion engines and electric systems .
with production numbers of the bitter sc coupé increasing and plans for other derivates of the sc, it also became clear that a lower priced car was needed for the financial health and growth of the company .
right now, hybrids have 2 percent of the passenger car market in the u. s. , and completely electric vehicles are still a rarity. even in ev - friendly california, battery - powered cars only hold 2. 7 percent of the market .
he most high profile is billionaire elon musk’s tesla, whose s and x models claim ranges of about 275 miles, though these cars are considerably more expensive than the leaf, the current version of which is priced from about £24, 000 before “green” grants .
three to four cars a week rolled out of the sdp works for several years until the senator' s passing, when production ground to a halt. approximately 488 scs were built for worldwide consumption, with just under half of those dispatched to america. thus the bitter sc was the only opel - powered car on offer in the states in the' 80s, spanning the bridge between the last of the mantas in the' 70s and the cadillac catera two decades later .
indeed, the company already makes the two best - selling electric cars in the u. s. —the model s sedan and the model x suv. its most promising product, the model 3, a relatively affordable sedan ($ 35, 000, before government incentives), debuts later this year. then there’s tesla biggest tech advantage: its battery technology. facing a shortage of high - quality and affordable lithium - ion batteries required in electric cars, musk built his own proprietary “gigafactory” in nevada to produce state - of - the - art batteries that could cement a permanent advantage, the way apple’s hardware has upheld the company reign over smartphone profits. lithium - ion batteries, which are used in electric and hybrid cars, in addition to everything from spacecraft to smartphones and e - cigarettes .
. since this company was not only producing bicycles but also cars they could be of great help when erich planned a switchover to automobile competition. at the age of 25 he started to enter some competitive events .
at first everybody passed me
recalled bitter, but it wasn' t long before he started winning in an nsu. during his eleven year racing career from 1958 to 1969 he raced porsches, ferraris and mercedes 300sl' s, amongst others, before being offered a works drive for abarth .
with its distinctive looks and exlusive trim the vero should have been an alternative for the high end models of the european car brands, especially in europe where the donor cars themselves are not often or not at all spotted on the roads. but only a handful of veros were sold .
of course, the company has plans to deliver fully self - driving cars in the early 2020s. they acquired self - driving startup cruise automation (for $ 1 billion) and have plans to hire 1, 100 more technology - focused workers in california, centered around san francisco .
“if we share rides in shared cars, we will only need 10 percent of the cars we have today, ” says robin chase, the founder of zipcar. “we have the ability to eliminate congestion, transform the livability of cities, make it possible to travel quickly and safely from a to b for the price of a bus ticket, improve the quality of our air, and make a significant dent in reducing carbon - dioxide emissions. ” this is the future that is the most exciting to me. it’s also a future in which cars ironically become more like public real estate rather than private property—a networked commodity, rather than a status symbol. that might be great for riders, congestion, cities, and the environment, but it’s not obvious that it would be great for any company that relies on enormous per - vehicle profits to justify its stock price .
have corrected the data, bitter is a old german independent car producer who use large scale mass prodcution vehicles and turns them in somehting unique... without success... this car is bitters last try based on a holden caprice
bitter was planning to offer the rallye in different versions going from a basic version with standard 110 bhp 2. 0 - litre engine to an up - market version with a 165 bhp 2. 6 - litre engine and full leather interior .
both the 3. 0 and 3. 9 liter engines use bosch l - jetronic electronic fuel injection. although not rare in cars of the era, it does have peculiarities unique to the bitter. the car can throw untrained mechanics a few curveballs — even something as simple as bleeding the cooling system can lead to problems. (for the curious, you have to bleed the system cold by removing and then filling the reservoir elevated out of the car and bleeding air through bleed screws on top of the radiator with the engine off. )
“because of the car' s low values and the ferrari parts and service sword of damocles that hangs over the head of any owner, most of the cars of this series that turn up at auction have significant needs. buy one of these, and you may as well start thinking about ways to improve on bernie madoff' s ponzi scheme - - you' ll need that kind of capital to put things right. about the only thing that won' t cost five figures to address is the aforementioned gm automatic, which is yet another reason why these cars will never be worth anything. ”
our take then: “the bitter is a driver’s car, designed by a driver for other drivers. it combines the joy of driving an exotic italian coupe with the pleasure of driving a solid german luxury car. ” — roger cartwright, sports car graphic, january 1984 now: the bitter was a little ahead of its time, combining a good drive with restrained exotic looks and daily driver usability. the fact that they’re overlooked by collectors, meaning they’re still affordable, might be what makes them most appealing .
bitter shipped the cars, sans drivetrains, from italy to austria for mating to their opel mechanicals. in total, only about 250 - 300 scs ever made the additional trans - atlantic swim, and it' s hard to say how many of those haven' t succumbed to the tin - worm or the can' t find a set of brake pads so i' ll just park it - isms here in the u. s. . in fact, for many in the states opel itself is an unknown commodity, as foreign sounding as calphalon or single - ply toilet paper .
inside and out, the bitter sc exudes luxury without being over the top. the design has aged well, and, while it doesn’t look as flashy as the maseratis or lamborghinis of the time, it has certainly aged better. this was erich bitter’s goal — to create a low - volume car for discerning buyers. he never wanted to be an automotive giant; he just wanted to build the car he always dreamed of. in the end, he produced an estimated 460 sc coupes, not bad for a singular vision .
erich bitter made the decision to approach opel at russelheim and has never regretted it. he established his car business in his hometown of schwelm in 1971. between 1973 and 1986 he built 395 cd' s and 488 sc' s on proven russelheim platforms and running gear .
apple and amazon got so big because they piggy - backed off of larger movements in tech and culture—the shift of attention to mobile and the shift of retail to the internet—that created enormous new markets for them to dominate. investors expect tesla to dominate the electric future of cars the way apple gobbles up smartphone profits and amazon dominates e - commerce .
bitter’s second project, the sc, started in 1977 while the cd was still in production. opel had decided it would stop production on the diplomat, and once that happened, no matter how successful bitter’s car was, the platform would disappear. in 1978, opel launched a new technologically advanced car, called the senator. the new opel was not only lighter, but also powered by a more efficient fuel - injected 3. 0 - liter inline six - cylinder engine. the sc wasn’t ready for production until 1981, and by that time, bauer was busy with other projects and no longer had the capacity to build vehicles for bitter. although other german manufacturers would have been the first choice, the contract was eventually given to the italian manufacturer ocra. after only 79 units, the contract was pulled from ocra due to quality issues and given to a second italian builder, maggiore. the handmade interiors also were sourced from italy from leather maker salt. until 1983, bodies and interiors were built in italy and shipped back to bitter’s factory in schwelm, germany, for final assembly. eventually, demand outgrew production capacity .
in 1971 dave holls replaced chuck jordan as opel' s styling chief and he, like many other top opel executives, regularly used the car. erich bitter had seen the car many times and was smitten by the concept of its stunning styling and reliable, well engineered running gear .
the bitter cd was the first car of the new marque, based on the opel diplomat but with a shortened floor - pan. the suspension was tuned for the new car' s weight and size but the mechanicals were untouched remaining pure general motors. this was a fine car, built and trimmed by baur to a very high standard. when it appeared in 1971, it attracted substantial orders but unfortunately the oil crisis changed the face of motoring in the 1970s and suddenly a 5. 4 litre v8 became very undesirable. it was simply the wrong car at the wrong time. the bitter cd also had a supercar price tag and it was questionable whether a car built from gm' s parts bins, should be in the same price bracket as a rolls royce. production ran from 1971 until 1979 and a total of 390 bitter cds were built .
nissan ceo carlos ghosn had made several big promises about self - driving cars. back in 2013, he said that the company would have autonomous vehicles for sale at reasonable prices by 2020. he reaffirmed that in 2015 (with some caveats). and in 2016, the company said it would have 10 car models with some autonomy baked in by 2020.
erich bitter automobil gmbh ( bitter ) is a premium sports-luxury automobile marque produced in germany and later austria . founder erich bitter , a former racing driver turned automobile tuner , importer and ultimately designer began crafting his own vehicles after business ventures with italian manufacture intermeccanica ended . bitter specialises in rebodying other manufacturer 's vehicles and its initial production was between 1973 and 1989 , selling vehicles in europe and the united states . thereafter , several prototypes followed with an eye on resuming low-volume production , but none of those plans came to fruition until the launch of the bitter vero in 2007 . 
erich bitter automobil gmbh (bitter) is a premium sports-luxury automobile marque produced in germany and later austria. founder erich bitter, a former racing driver turned automobile tuner, importer and ultimately designer began crafting his own vehicles after business ventures with italian manufacture intermeccanica ended. bitter specialises in rebodying other manufacturer's vehicles and its initial production was between 1973 and 1989, selling vehicles in europe and the united states. thereafter, several prototypes followed with an eye on resuming low-volume production, but none of those plans came to fruition until the launch of the bitter vero in 2007.
erich bitter automobil gmbh (bitter) is a premium sports-luxury automobile marque produced in germany and later austria. founder erich bitter, a former racing driver turned automobile tuner, importer and ultimately designer began crafting his own vehicles after business ventures with italian manufacture intermeccanica ended. bitter specialises in rebodying other manufacturer's vehicles and its initial production was between 1973 and 1989, selling vehicles in europe and the united states. thereafter, several prototypes followed with an eye on resuming low-volume production, but none of those plans came to fruition until the launch of the bitter vero in 2007.