Erich Bitter

Erich Bitter's father ran a bicycle shop with several branches. The son wanted to become a professional cyclist from an early age. After he had some successes as an amateur, he left school after high school and initially worked in his father's company. In 1954, at the German Road Championship in Dingolfing , he became the youngest German professional at the age of 21. For two years, from 1954 to 1956, Bitter started for the Bismarck cycling team , followed by two years for Torpedo . He mainly drove as a noble domestique for Hennes Junkermann and Klaus BugdahlHowever, there were no major successes of their own. In 1958 he ended his cycling career for health reasons.

Erich Bitter's father ran a bicycle shop with several branches. The son wanted to become a professional cyclist from an early age. After he had some successes as an amateur, he left school after high school and initially worked in his father's company. In 1954, at the German Road Championship in Dingolfing , he became the youngest German professional at the age of 21. For two years, from 1954 to 1956, Bitter started for the Bismarck cycling team , followed by two years for Torpedo . He mainly drove as a noble domestique for Hennes Junkermann and Klaus BugdahlHowever, there were no major successes of their own. In 1958 he ended his cycling career for health reasons.

Subject ID: 83205

More

Erich Bitter's father ran a bicycle shop with several branches. The son wanted to become a professional cyclist from an early age. After he had some successes as an amateur, he left school after high school and initially worked in his father's company. In 1954, at the German Road Championship in Dingolfing , he became the youngest German professional at the age of 21. For two years, from 1954 to 1956, Bitter started for the Bismarck cycling team , followed by two years for Torpedo . He mainly drove as a noble domestique for Hennes Junkermann and Klaus BugdahlHowever, there were no major successes of their own. In 1958 he ended his cycling career for health reasons.

Erich Bitter's father ran a bicycle shop with several branches. The son wanted to become a professional cyclist from an early age. After he had some successes as an amateur, he left school after high school and initially worked in his father's company. In 1954, at the German Road Championship in Dingolfing , he became the youngest German professional at the age of 21. For two years, from 1954 to 1956, Bitter started for the Bismarck cycling team , followed by two years for Torpedo . He mainly drove as a noble domestique for Hennes Junkermann and Klaus BugdahlHowever, there were no major successes of their own. In 1958 he ended his cycling career for health reasons.

During his work as a racing car driver, Erich Bitter expanded numerous commercial activities. In 1960 he opened a car dealership in his hometown for NSU and later also for Saab , Volvo and Abarth . As the “Rallye Bitter” auto accessories dealer, he was the first to import fire-retardant racing overalls from Great Britain since 1964. Bitter later developed its own flame-tested substance, Nomex, together with DuPont . To introduce “Nomex”, he personally stood in a flame-tested overalls in an oil pan from which the flames came up. He also imported automobiles from the small Italian manufacturer Costruzione Automobili Intermeccanica. From 1987 to 1997 he ran the "Bitter Automobile Company" in Santa Monica , until his business friend Lee Miglin fell victim to the serial killer Andrew Phillip Cunanan , who also killed Gianni Versace .

His dissatisfaction with Intermeccanica's products prompted Erich Bitter to design his own car. He founded Bitter GmbH & Co. KG (today: Bitter Automotive GmbH) and built several car models from 1971, most of them based on Opel. The cars have cult status to this day: The owners of Bitter automobiles meet annually for the "Bitter Meet".

From 1986 Erich Bitter built various prototypes. From 1997 to 2005, Bitter worked with a team for research and development at Volkswagen . In 2010 he presented his “Bitter Insignia” based on an Opel Insignia. 

Erich Bitter was nominated in the category Person of the Year in the 2013 award for The Golden Classic Steering Wheel by the magazine Autobild Klassik.

Subject ID: 83205

Less