Bitter CD

Bitter
CD
Production period:	1973-1979
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Combi coupe
Engines:	Otto engine : 5.4 liters (169 kW)
Length:	4855 mm
Width:	1845 mm
Height:	1285 mm
Wheelbase :	2680 mm
Empty weight :	1750 kg
Previous model	Intermeccanica Indra
successor	Bitter SC

The Bitter CD was a sports car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Bitter from autumn 1973 to the end of 1979 , which combined American and German technology with an Italian-style hatchback body.

prehistory

The concept of the Bitter CD goes back to the Intermeccanica Italia , a sports car made in Turin with a plastic body and equipped with drive technology from Ford . This vehicle, primarily intended for the American market, was imported to Germany by Erich Bitter from 1969 . Bitter made some changes to the chassis for the German market.

The idea made in 1970 to equip the Italia with technology from General Motors in the future could not be implemented because the Italia, whose conception went back to 1963, did not allow such profound changes. Instead, Bitter and Costruzione Automobili Intermeccanica developed a new model, the Intermeccanica Indra , which was designed as a step and hatchback coupé as well as a convertible and was based on the technical components of the Opel Diplomat . The Austrian engineer Friedrich "Fritz" Indra drives an Indra himself, but was not involved in the development, as is sometimes claimed. Depending on the source, the model name can be traced back to the Hindu goddess Indra or to a hit by Udo Jürgens.

The vehicle continued to be manufactured in Turin and sold as Intermeccanica. Bitter took care of sales in Europe, but was dissatisfied early on with what he considered to be the inadequate quality standard of Italian bodies. In 1971 Bitter decided to offer his own car with a very similar design. Opel supported the project from the start, as the coupé was suitable for giving its own products more prestige.

The development

The Bitter CD was developed by Erich Bitter in close cooperation with Opel and the Stuttgart body manufacturer Baur . Opel not only provided the drive technology for the Opel Diplomat , but was also involved in the advance development of the self-supporting body. The details of the development work were carried out at Baur.

The body design of the CD also has several fathers. The basis of the design was a study by Opel's then head of design, Charles “Chuck” Jordan, which provided for a long bonnet, a narrow passenger compartment positioned far to the rear and a hatchback; A special feature of the car was a unit consisting of a windscreen, roof and side parts that could be folded up and instead of conventional doors, enabled access to the interior.

One of two prototypes of the Frua CD

Rear view of the Frua CD

The vehicle, based on Opel Diplomat technology, was shown at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in 1969 as the "Coupé Diplomat" and caused a sensation, so that the Italian designer Pietro Frua was commissioned to develop a version of this design suitable for series production. Frua's design was presented as "Frua CD" at the Paris Motor Show in 1970 and was thoroughly examined by Opel in the following period. From this draft, with the help of Erich Bitter, Opel designers ultimately designed the hatchback body of the Bitter CD, which in its layout and numerous details was reminiscent of Giorgetto Giugiaro's Maserati Ghibli . The extent to which Erich Bitter actually exerted influence on the design of the coupé is controversial in detail. Numerous add-on parts from Opel were used in detail; the taillights, however, came (as in the Lamborghini Espada or the Iso Fidia ) from the Fiat 124 Coupé .

The Bitter CD was presented to the public as the Bitter Diplomat CD at the Frankfurt IAA in September 1973. The addition “Diplomat” was later dropped on multiple customer requests. The selling price was given as 60,000 DM. After the IAA was over, Bitter had received around 200 orders for his CD. As a result of the first oil crisis , numerous customers later dropped out. Nonetheless, Bitter managed to sell 70 CDs in the first year of production, while at the same time established competitors such as Iso Rivolta or Jensen filed for bankruptcy or were threatened with bankruptcy.

technology

The Bitter CD is based technically on the Opel Diplomat B .

Like this one, it was equipped with a 5.4 liter eight-cylinder engine from Chevrolet , but not in the American version, but in the processing stage that was also used in the large Opel Diplomat. This gave it an output of 169 kW (230 DIN PS).

production

The Bitter CD was made by Baur in Stuttgart. Production ended in late autumn 1979, with the last CD being delivered until mid-1980.

The reason for the end of the CD was that production of the Opel Diplomat had already been stopped in July 1977 and this gradually led to a bottleneck in the parts supply. A total of 395 copies of the Bitter CD were made.

Picture gallery

• 

  Side view

• 

  View of the interior

• 

  Rear view

• 

  The rear window also serves as a trunk lid

• 

  Front section with pop-up headlights

literature

• Bitter sport. American power and Italo look: Erich Bitter's “Coupé Diplomat” . Presentation and model history in Oldtimer Markt issue 1/1996, p. 8 ff.
• Opel Diplomat CD: The fast ambassadors . History of the Chuck Jordan design and the Frua Diplomat in: Oldtimer Markt, special issue: Prototypes 1988, p. 57 ff.
• Kevin Brazendale: Encyclopedia Automobile from Alfa Romeo to Zagato. The 600 most beautiful models . Weltbild, Augsburg 2000. ISBN 3-8289-5384-0 .

Individual evidence

Commons : Bitter CD  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

1. ↑ Brazendale p. 57
2. ↑ Oldtimer Markt special issue prototypes, p. 57 f
3. ^ History of the Frua CD with numerous images on the website www.pietro-frua.de
4. ↑ Oldtimer Markt 1/1996, p. 12
5. ↑ Representation of the state of opinion with interviews of participating engineers at www.pietro-frua.de