Interview Erich Bitter – “One thing I’ve learned.” “Nothing in life is easy”

Erich Bitter passed away this week at the age of ninety. Among other things, the driver, entrepreneur and designer was responsible for the Bitter CD and SC, which were developed on the basis of Opel technology. Autovisie spoke to Bitter in 2012.

When asked why Erich Bitter wanted to build his own car so much, he pulls out all the stops. In 1962, Bitter opened a dealership for solid Volvos and Saabs, but a year later he was considering selling Maseratis as well. But the Quattroporte I he had ordered was flooded after a rain shower and feedback from the factory (“Then why don’t you dig some holes in the floor to let the water drain?”) made him decide against it.

Erich Bitter became friends with Bob Lutz

In 1968 he became a dealer of another Italian brand: the small Intermeccanica, founded by Frank Reisner. But Reisner didn’t seem to care too much about build quality either, with the result that Bitter almost went bankrupt to keep customers on the road. The intention to build a beautiful, exclusive car suitable for everyday use grew day by day.

A decisive moment (in retrospect) was the test drive with a racing Opel Record in 1968 at the invitation of Opel. There he met Bob Lutz on the racetrack in Hockenheim. At that time still employed at Opel in Rüsselsheim, later Vice President of General Motors. “I was impressed by the car, but I didn’t like Opel,” remembers Bitter, but he became friends with Lutz.

“Bob encouraged me to trade my Mercedes 300SEL for an Opel Diplomat, but I didn’t want to. Technically, however, the Diplomat was a good car and the 5.4 V8 engine was perfect for Intermeccanica in place of the Ford V8, which was unavailable in Europe and therefore difficult to repair. After some urging, Bitter not only loosened up the engine at Lutz, but the entire drive train in order to use it in the new Indra.

“I also wanted Opel to sign a supply contract with Intermeccanica, including a factory warranty, so that customers could go to the Opel dealerships.” But Reisner couldn’t afford the parts, so Bitter signed the contract. “It wasn’t until four years later that I got a 52-page contract, but by then I’d already broken up with Frank.

Bitter CD and SC were a sales success

The components of the Opel Diplomat were good, but a high-quality car had to be built around it. A German car.” He started development with a team of engineers. Baur in Stuttgart produced the car. Thus was born the Bitter CD, a GT three times more expensive than the car it was based on.

A total of 395 examples were built up to 1979. Opel happy, Bitter happy and so the CD got a successor. The SC was built to the same recipe: Opel mechanics (by the Senator this time) surrounded by an exclusive, high-quality carriage. Production ended in 1987 after 488 examples, but Bitter had already started the successor two years earlier: the Type 3 based on the Omega 3000.

Bitter is outraged by the Isuzu drama

“At one point, Jack Riley, President of Isuzu America, came to my booth,” Bitter recalls. “A big player, but with SUVs alone it was also a brand that had trouble staying afloat. The Type 3 convertible was exactly what Riley was looking for. Having so many GM parts was an advantage only because of GM’s 12 percent ownership in Isuzu.”

And so Bitter allowed himself to be lured into adventure. Three years later the contract was broken. The anger still echoes in his voice. “I was never a liability to GM. I stopped the Intermeccanica Indra and built the much better CD, SC and SC convertible instead. There was even an outlet in Beverly Hills selling 300 SC! And yet they abandoned the project in late 1989.”

Bitter can only guess why. “I took my car back, but what do I do with a model that was ready for 10,000 units? I couldn’t make more than seventy a year.” What would be an unprecedented high turned into drama. “One thing I’ve learned over the years. Nothing in life is easy.”

Scammers sold fake Bitter shares

But Bitter is a fighter and so he started developing the four-door Type 3 based on the Omega BMV-6. “At least it could be turbocharged, but for customers in this segment, the more cylinders the better. The CD had a 5.4 V8, the SC unfortunately only an in-line six, but thanks to a different crankshaft the displacement increased to four liters.”

In 1994 the Berlina shone at the Geneva Motor Show. “I had 450 orders but didn’t have the $15 million to start production.” So, at the suggestion of an old friend, he took Bitter public. The Nasdaq was an ideal fit for a fledgling company like Bitter, and on December 27, 1995, it was official. Through a silent NV, he had arranged an IPO with a German private investor as the sole shareholder.

It was only moments later that he received a call from his right-hand man with the news that the same shareholder had been arrested for large-scale fraud. “I couldn’t believe it. Such a Mr. Kuhlen had sold counterfeit Bitter shares worth $150 million!” Kuhlen was sentenced to nine years in prison, Bitter had to disappear from the Nasdaq and Erich was back at the beginning. No money , no project, no Berlina.