1979 Bitter CD

History

Erich Bitter Automobil GmbH (Bitter) was a sports-luxury automobile marque that produced cars in Germany and later Austria. The company was founded by Erich Bitter, a former race car driver, who later turned his attention to importing Italian cars to Germany, such as the Abarth and Intermeccanica. Unfortunately, Bitter was not satisfied with the quality of the Italian cars, he decided to build cars on his own. Productions began in 1973 and continued until 1989. Their primary market was Europe and the United States.

One of the earliest Bitter projects was the Opel Diplomat-based CD (Coupe diplomat), produced from 1973 through 1979. The car came about from the cancellation of the 1969 Opel 'Dreamcar' project spearheaded by Bob A. Lutz. General Motors feared the car would conflict with the Chevrolet Corvette. The design was performed by Charles M. 'Chuck' Jordan, Opel's design boss from 1967 through 1971, and his assistants George A. Gallion, David Holls, Herbert Killmer, and Hideo Kodama.

The Opel styling study Opel CD was first shown on September 9th, 1969, at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt.

Pietro Frua was later commissioned to revise the design of the Opel CD and to prepare two drivable prototypes. The production version of the Bitter CD was first shown at the 1973 Frankfurt Motorshow. Production began a year later. The CD was given a shortened Opel Diplomat and was fitted with a 327 cubic-inch V8 engine.

The company had hopes of producing 200 cars per year. By the start of 1975, Bitter had built just 100 examples of the CD. Part of the reason for the slow sales was the economic conditions of the time and the oil crisis of the era. When production ended in 1979, just 395 examples had been produced, as well as five car bodies for the warehouse.

Bitter continued their relationship with Opel. In 1981, the Opel Monza-based SC was introduced. Bitter remained in production until 1986, when funds dried up.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2012