The Bitter SC is, to me, a very interesting car. Born from the relatively pedestrian Opel Senator platform, the slinky 2-door coupe seemed to borrow a fair amount of its character from the much more exclusive Ferrari lineup outside. Underneath, though, the looks were not backed up by a sonorous V12, but rather the 3 liter inline-6 (later bumped to 3.9 liters) from the Opel lineup. This was mated to a GM-derived 3-speed automatic. Though the power output was respectable for the day at 180 horsepower, the heavy automatic Bitter was much more a cruiser than a backroad bandit. That was reinforced by the interior, which has a definite bias towards luxury instead of sport. This was not a sports car but instead a grand tourer, and the appointments inside were made to the highest standards of the day. The competition was not the Porsche 911, but rather cars like the Maserati Kyalami and the Ferrari 400i. The SC was an exclusive car, with only around 400 examples produced; but today, they’re a great value in the classic car market.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1982 Bitter SC on eBay
Year: 1982
Model: SC
Engine: 3.0 liter inline-6
Transmission: 3-speed automatic
Mileage: 36,052 mi
Price: No Reserve Auction
1982 Bitter SC
*NO RESERVE*
36,052 Actual Miles
(Runs and Drives)
VIN# W09526219CSBVIN
A VERY RARE car made in Germany for the American market.
A fabulous car for show or for cross country touring!
Wouldn’t this be a great car for a collector who loves the rare and unusual gems that are not seen at most car shows?
The perfect automobile that combines excellent handling, beautiful Italian design and superb coachwork with superior performance was the goal of the former German racecar driver, Erich Bitter. This car is the result of his vision.
Leather interior done by Salt, Italy
Body shells by Maggiore, Italy
Drivertrain, instruments and suspension by Opel, Germany
Final assembly and painting by Steyer-Daimler-Puch, Austria
Lee Miglin, a successful Chicago real estate developer, set up Bitter dealerships in the U.S.
Between 1982 and 1985, only 452 of these cars were made and brought into the U.S.
Standard Equipment on this 1982 Bitter includes:
· Air Conditioning (seller states that he has not used the a/c)
· Full leather interior
· Independent front suspension
· Power steering
· Power windows
· Power disc brakes· GM automatic transmission
Base MSRP when new: $49,000.00 (when the Corvette was selling for $18,000.00).
The car for sale has NO RESERVE!
The 80+ year old seller of this car has provided a description in his own words:
The car was purchased from a private party in 2003 with 34,672 miles and the odometer now shows 36,051 miles. The car is in beautiful shape, and the fit and finish are superb. Note the crosshatched black sound-deadening panels under the hood. The car’s entire interior is finished in high-grade black leather, including the interior of the glove box.
The previous owner had renewed all the fuel injectors. The seller has added new tires, battery, valve cover gasket, rubber fuel pump mounts, hood release cable and lever, brake pads, speedometer cable and had the car aligned.
The car has been re-painted once in the original color and it is near flawless. It is a warm silver, probably what had been known as German Racing Silver.
The car runs very well. The only flaw is a slight scuffing on the window behind the driver’s door. According to the previous owner, the entire window assembly blew out while he was traveling 125-130 MPH. He retrieved the window assembly and had it securely re-fitted.
It’s a very handsome car with room for four passengers and a standout at any serious car show. Add to that the great ability of this car for cross country travel and an extremely low reserve. If you are bored with the “me too†1957 Chevys and the 1959-51 Pontiacs then check out this Bitter!
I’d love to know more about the claimed 130 m.p.h. blast that resulted in the window being blown out; it seems a bit suspect but would make for a great fish story. Condition on this car seems to be top of the market; the leather and dash appear to be in good condition, the exterior looks to shine and even the wheels look new. Because they are a bit obscure, pricing on these cars has remained low; Hagerty places absolute top condition cars at only around $25,000 with a very flat market for the past 6 years. This car looks to be close to that, though the bidding on the auction hasn’t even come close to that amount with no reserve set. For someone looking for something a little bit different and a lot more affordable to run than the Maserati/De Tomaso or Ferrari crowd, this appears to be a great example.
-Carter
Some more history on this (Ya I had to Google it, I have never heard of this before!):
http://www.motortrend.com/classic/features/12q2_1985_bitter_sc_3_9_coupe/
By the year of this model for sale, it might be a pre-official for US export, not that that matters much now, just possible interesting history.
I feel like there were a ton more of these crazy kind of things up through I dunno – the ’90s or so, and far less small production weird cars these days.
@Ry Thanks for that link. The seats sound super comfy!
No prob @John! Yes those seats are a riot – they look like they are fancy ’80s office furniture or something.
This car has a mysterious quality that I can’t quite describe succinctly – but it’s peculiar in a way that I could totally see Elvis buying one (or several) if he had lived long enough. It has that eccentric, luxurious, and unapologetically “futuristic” styling that appealed to that unusual demographic.
In the “cars this vaugely reminds me of” that Carter excellently touched on, I’d like to add the Aston Lagonda, the Bricklan, and the Maserti Biturbo. One or two of those for sure has a GM slushbox too!
I checked out their owner’s club online, they have quite a few unusual models.