Bitter Cars: Well-Loved but Short-Lived
By Fei Lim

Bitter cars are some of the rarest vehicles out there. You would be hard pressed to find any Bitter models running down the road next to you on your way to work or play, as they are rarely produced and rarely made available in the United States.

The company was founded by a man named Erich Bitter, a race car driver who also tuned cars for a living. As he no longer raced cars, Erich Bitter decided to venture into designing and designed the first Bitter car after a deal with another Italian vehicle manufacturing company went south.

At first, Bitter cars were manufactured in Germany. Manufacturing headquarters was later moved to a city in Austria. Bitter cars were never really produced for a long period of time. The first Bitter car rolled off the line in 1973, and the last Bitter car rolled off the line in 1989, a mere 16 years later. Since then, some Bitter car models have been created, but very few of them have come to life through actual engineering and creation. Very recently, a Bitter car model was shown at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show. This recent Bitter prototype was created in the image of the American made Pontiac GTO.

Bitter cars are rare, few and far between and that is certainly the truth. The Bitter CD car was only produced for a few years between 1973 and 1979, and during those six years, less than four hundred Bitter CD vehicles were produced. The Bitter CD was a three door hatchback car; two doors in the front and one rear door that opened out were the only ways in and out of the rare Hatchback CD, and the vehicle was built like a true racer. Low to the ground and with smooth, sloping downward lines, the Bitter CD just screamed speed with its 227 horsepower v-8 engine.

The Bitter SC is another one of Bitter cars’ rare models. The Bitter SC model was produced in the decade between 1979 and 1989, and during this ten years, less than 500 cars were built, most of them coupes, with a few dozen convertibles and a handful of sedans. The Bitter SC coupe was the first to roll off the line. It was not until 1982 when 20 convertibles were created, and two years later, five sedans were built.

Bitter Cars just never really took off as a business, for whatever reason. Many speculate that Bitter Cars failed because it based itself too much on the Opel Company, another vehicle manufacturing company on which both major Bitter models were based. At the time, it was not looked well upon when car models were representative of one another. People wanted competition because it drove prices down. Modeling one vehicle after another allows the manufacturer to not have to price as competitively, and both of the Bitter models were based on Opel brand vehicles, and even had Opel engines in them.

As of late, the Bitter CD2 was shown in the Geneva Motor Show as recent as 2004 and 2005. It was a hit, but the concept car still has yet to be formally engineered and designed for commercial purposes, if it ever will. In all of Europe, it is said that there are less than thirty Bitter cars in running, working condition. So needless to say, they are quite the hot commodity and revered by motor car enthusiasts from all over the world.