This Rare Sports Car Wore Ferrari Style Over Opel Bones For Half The Cost
When it comes to cars, there’s always a compromise to make. You can have power, but that can come with reliability troubles. You could have exclusivity, but that comes with cost. You could have beautiful Italian design, but that usually comes with unfortunate Italian reliability. But there was one sports car that not only offered drivers stunning Italian-inspired looks, but durable German mechanicals. And it didn’t cost the earth.
The Bitter Name Once Represented Germany’s Answer To Boutique Luxury Cars
Born in Germany in 1933, Erich Bitter led a varied life. He was a professional cyclist in the 1950s, competing in the Tour de France, then moved into automotive racing at age 25. From here he competed in Porsches, Ferraris, and Mercedes cars, ultimately finishing third in the 1965 German Circuit Championship. But all sporting careers must come to an end and, in 1973, he founded Bitter Automobil.
Using contacts developed during his racing career, particularly Opel, Bitter Automobil was his personal vision: combining the precision and dependability associated with German engineering, with the emotional aspect of Italian designs. But rather than entering the world of mass-production, Bitter instead focused on handcrafted cars that were luxurious, despite often using comparatively plain Opel underpinnings. But by merging the best of two worlds, Bitter created something unique and highly exclusive.
Italian Styling And German Engineering Was A Winning Formula In The 1970s
By the 1970s, each country had established a reputation for what its cars were like. Italy placed passion and performance over practicality, often creating cars that, while beautiful, were at times problematic. Germany, meanwhile, prioritized engineering sophistication and durability over audacious aesthetics. Which you found better was largely down to taste, but while each country largely sticks to its automotive identity, some in the 1970s dared to explore.
Volkswagen was a key proponent of blending Italian and German, with the 1974 Scirocco and 1974 Mk1 Golf both being penned by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. The BMW M1 went further, taking Italian supercar styling and combining it with BMW’s engineering discipline to create one of the decade’s most significant and exciting supercars and becoming one of the clearest examples of Italian styling complementing German engineering.
Ferrari, meanwhile, was reshaping the Grand Tourer market with cars like the 365 GT4 2+2 and later 400 series, crafting elegant, long cars that became quintessential symbols of sophistication and performance. These cars were important, though still had the at times temperamental nature common with Italian cars. And so, in 1979, Bitter unveiled what it hoped would be the best of what both Germany and Italy could offer.
The Bitter SC Wrapped Ferrari-Like Style Around Opel Underpinnings
|
Engine |
Power |
Torque |
Top Speed |
Weight |
Cost New |
|
3.0-liter inline-six |
178 HP |
183 lb-ft |
140 MPH |
3,490 lbs |
$45,700 |
Bitter had already had success in the automotive world, with its first car — the Bitter CD — being very well-received on launch in 1973. The car had the aesthetics of a 1970 Maserati Ghibli, both having a long wheelbase, drooping hood, and sloping rear window, though underneath its Italian exterior the CD had German and American muscle, with Opel mechanicals and a 5.4-liter Chevrolet V8. Though the car was admired it was a relative flop, coming right before the 1973 oil crisis and costing more than the comparative Opel Diplomat. But while this first attempt didn’t work, Bitter came back in 1979 with the Bitter SC.
The SC also reskinned the nervous system of an Opel, though this time it was the Opel Senator A. In standard guise, the car was a four-door saloon, intended to compete with the executive models like the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz W123. But in Bitter guise, it was designed to compete with some of the most luxurious Grand Tourers of the time – and it took more than a couple of design cues from the 1972 Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2.
Both cars had a long hood and short rear deck. Both cars had slim pillars and a large, airy cabin. Both cars also had a rectangular front end and wedge-shaped profile, were front-engined, rear-wheel drive, and came with five-speed manuals. There were some differences, of course. The Bitter SC was slightly taller than the Ferrari, owing to the Opel Senator base. The interior of the Bitter also had Opel switchgear, and was less powerful. But the real difference was under the hood.
Where the Ferrari opted for the high-revving 4.4-liter Colombo V-12 engine, the most common engine found in the Bitter SC was a 3.0-liter inline-six that made around 180 HP and could get to a top speed of 140 MPH. Clearly not as exciting as the Ferrari. But then the SC wasn’t really intended to compete on outright performance.
While the cars might have looked resoundingly similar, the market was slightly different. The Ferrari was a true exotic Grand Tourer, with its large, powerful engine and Italian heritage putting it up against the likes of Lamborghini and Aston Martin. The Bitter, on the other hand, was more of a coachbuilt luxury Grand Tourer alternative, of the same ilk as the BMW 6 Series and Jaguar XJ-S. Not cars to be sniffed at, but certainly not the ultimate in continent-crushing cruisers. But while the SC might not have been going after quite the same market, it provided the exclusivity of one with the benefits of mass-production from the other.
Hand-Built Quality Helped The Bitter SC Stand Apart From Ordinary Luxury Coupes
The SC stood apart from other luxury coupes because it offered something few manufacturers could deliver — that being a car with Italian soul and German heart. Bitter made the SC in limited numbers so it could focus on the craftsmanship and care that it wanted its cars to be associated with. The bodies were manufactured in Italy (first in Turin, then Maggiora after the first batch weren’t up to the quality Bitter wanted) before the rest of the car was completed in Austria.
The Opel mechanicals actually provided a strong advantage compared to other exotics, as not only were its engines proven, but owners would benefit from much more accessible servicing and a far greater parts availability. This made the SC far easier to live with than many contemporary exotics, allowing owners to drive it regularly instead of reserving it for weekends.
Fewer than 500 were made during its 1979–1990 run (the car was introduced in 1979, but deliveries didn’t start until 1981), with the car eventually receiving a 3.9-liter engine before it ceased production. Today it remains a difficult-to-find classic, selling for far more in its native Europe than the US, where the car sells for far less (slightly more than $10,000 on average) than its CD predecessor (a little more than $52,000 on average).
The Bitter SC Became A Cult Classic That Time Nearly Forgot
Despite its impressive combination of styling, craftsmanship, engineering and reliability, the Bitter SC remained a niche success rather than a mainstream luxury contender. Its relatively small run was a part of this, as Bitter deliberately made the car rarer than its counterparts, though another aspect is undoubtedly its inability to break into the lucrative US market.
Bitter didn’t really have a name in the US at the time, and releasing cars in such limited supply (less than 50 per year) meant that it couldn’t generate the brand recognition that the likes of Ferrari, Porsche, and BMW had. The SC eventually faded away, and Bitter nearly did too. It didn’t release its next car, the Vero, until 2007, though it tried multiple concepts in that 17-year gap.
Today, the Bitter SC remains one of the finest examples of Italian-inspired design paired with dependable German engineering. Hand-built, exclusive, and surprisingly usable, it delivered an experience few rivals could match. Overshadowed by the badges it borrowed inspiration from, the SC has become one of Europe’s most fascinating forgotten grand tourers—and one that deserves far more recognition than it receives.
Sources: Hagerty, Classic.com
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