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Bitter

Bitter

Born: 1971 Nationality: German

Former car dealer, race driver and rally accessories maker Eric Bitter set up a company to develop his own limited-production luxury GT cars. The first was the CD, built on a shortened Opel Diplomat platform with enthusiastic support from Opel, for whom Bitter had developed the Aero, a special version of the Kadett.

The CD was powered by the Diplomat's GM Chevrolet 5.4-litre V8 engine and had a sub-10sec 0-100km/h time. Bodywork and actual assembly was by Baur of Stuttgart, as Bitter didn't have the finance or the facilities to build himself.

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Actually launched at the end of 1973, Bitter was almost crippled by the oil crisis of the following year. However, by 1976 a total of 254 cars had been built - they were so chuffed with that they took out national advertising in Germany.

In 1977, Bitter initiated talks with Opel to build a new car based on the Senator platform and its 180hp 3-litre engine. Opel agreed, but this time he had to get his own investors to finance development. The final design was achieved with the help of stylists and engineers from Opel, and from Michelotti and Pininfarina in Italy.

Baur was unable to do the body manufacturing and assembly, so Bitter took the SC project to OCRA in Italy. The results were almost disastrous - that company's use of recycled steel in body panels left early SCs very prone to rust. By 1982 Maggiore of Turin was building the bodies and Bitter's company was assembling back in Germany. In the same year, Eric Bitter had produced plans for a cabriolet and a sedan version of the SC, and in 1983 he contracted with Steyr of Austria to build his cars, which now included a 3.9-litre variant with 210hp.

A Rallye GT based on Opel's Manta was planned, and actually went to study presentation stage. However, financial problems in 1985 caused a substantial cut in production of Bitter cars. An effort to boost interest in the US market resulted in the incorporation of a Bitter company in California in 1986.

The brand new Type III was developed in 1987, still using an Opel base car, this time the Omega 3000. It was initially proposed in a cabriolet and a hardtop 2-seat coupé, and by 1989 a 4-door 4-seat sedan prototype had been added. Typical of all Bitter styles at this time was a thin wedge nose and pop-up headlights - tail-lights were simple individual round units. Overall, Bitters are distinguished by a very clean styling.

The Type IIIs in prototype form continued and developed through the turn of the 1990s, and by 1995 the sedan had become a very sleek Berlina. Real production wasn't happening, and the firm was making its living in prototype development for other companies.

In 2003 a new prototype Bitter was presented at the Geneva motor show, based on the Holden Monaro. Proposed with the 345hp Chevrolet Corvette V8, in more recent configurations the designer has looked at the 440hp Corvette 6-litre, and even a Cadillac V12 7.5-litre. Last winter, an investor was found and the first production version of the CDII is due this autumn. Only 150 cars are expected to be built in the next three years, at an estimated cost of €120,000.

Best Car: The Maggiore-bodied SC, according to purists

Worst Car: The OCRA-bodied SC

Weirdest Car: Not yet ...