Good morning! It’s day two of our trip down Alphabet Street, and we’ve got two big, broken German coupes to check out. One you probably know, the other you may not. But that’s all right; our goal here is not only entertainment, but education as well.
Yesterday we started out with Alfa versus Audi, and it was a red-letter day for the itsy-bitsy Spider. You preferred it nearly two to one over the fast but sketchy S4 Cabrio. It sounds like the Alfa’s simplicity and friendliness won out over the Audi’s sheer brute force.


I agree wholeheartedly. I have a soft spot for Audis older than this, but anything this new is just a pain in the ass I don’t need. Besides, I’ve never owned an Italian car, and I think a cheery little Alfa Spider would be a good choice. It would complement my MG well, I think. And for that price? Come on. Good thing it’s three thousand miles away.
For these alphabetical pairings, I’m going to try to keep the cars as comparable as I can, but sometimes I don’t think it’s going to be possible. Today’s contenders line up pretty well; they’re both low-production grand touring coupes from Germany, with cushy interiors and pop-up headlights, but one is nearly twice the price of the other, and has half as many cylinders. But will its relative simplicity and rarity give it the edge? Let’s take a look at them and find out.
1984 Bitter SC – $11,000

Engine/drivetrain: 3.0-liter overhead cam inline 6, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Lancaster, PA
Odometer reading: 27,000 miles
Operational status: Unknown, but I’d wager it’s been sitting a while
It seems to be the dream of retired racing drivers to start their own car companies: Enzo Ferrari did it, and so did Carroll Shelby. And you can add Erich Bitter to that list as well. The German driver-turned-entrepreneur worked with Intermeccanica in Italy before forming his own company, Bitter Automotive. The first Bitter model was the CD, a gorgeous Chevy V8-powered fastback that sold in the dozens. The second was this car, the SC, built on the Opel Senator/Monza platform. Bitter sold a whopping 461 of these.

Under the SC’s long hood is a fuel-injected Opel inline six, displacing either 3.0 or 3.9 liters. The seller states that this is the 3.0-liter model. It drives the rear wheels through a three-speed automatic, also an Opel design. Last week, when I had this idea, I had found another SC for sale up in Canada, in better condition, with a five-speed manual, but the ad seems to have disappeared. So we’ll have to make do with this automatic version. The seller gives no indication of its mechanical condition, but judging by the dust on it, I’d imagine it will need some refurbishing.

The Bitter SC was designed as a luxurious grand tourer, so it’s comfortable and plush inside. It looks a lot like a contemporary Maserati inside, actually. It’s hard to tell with cars that have been sitting a long time what sort of condition the interior is really in – how much of what you see is damage, and how much is just grime? The driver’s seat has a few battle scars, it looks like, but the rest of the interior just looks dirty.

It’s hard to tell from these dark storage-unit photos, but it looks a lot like a Ferrari 400/412 on the outside. It’s a nice style, but very dated nowadays. There are a few minor rust spots, but overall it looks good. The front bumper appears to be lying on the ground in front of the car. That, like a few other aspects of this car, needs explaining before you shell out eleven grand and call a tow company.
1992 BMW 850i – $6,900

Engine/drivetrain: 5.0-liter overhead cam V12, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Berkeley, CA
Odometer reading: 156,000 miles
Operational status: Runs, but overheats – suspected bad head gasket
BMW’s celebrated 6 Series coupe was one of the Bitter SC’s main competitors, with its inline six and sprightly performance. But its successor, the 8 Series, was a bigger, fancier, and heavier car, not as light on its feet as the 6. To move that extra weight down the road, the 8 Series came with either a 4.0 liter V8, or, as we have here, a 5.0 liter V12.

BMW employed the “Doublemint” strategy when designing its V12; it’s basically two inline sixes in a trench coat pretending to be one engine. Each bank of six cylinders has its own fuel rail, distributor, and throttle body. Of course, that means there are twice as many things to potentially go wrong with it; these cars are known to be finicky and maintenance-intensive. This one has had a bunch of recent work, and it starts up and runs fine, but it overheats. The seller thinks it has a blown head gasket. They’re including the parts to fix it, but looking at this engine bay, I can’t imagine it’s an easy task.

This car has 156,000 miles on it, but you’d never know it from looking at the interior. Apart from a little wear on the driver’s seat and a misaligned glovebox lid, it looks practically new inside. BMW interiors from this era are nice places to be, very driver-focused and no-nonsense, but cars of this era are always let down by those big, cheesy early airbag steering wheels. It just doesn’t look like a suitable helm for a car that cost eighty grand new.

It’s a good-looking car, and another one of those cars that has more presence in person than photographs suggest. White is a surprisingly good color for it, too; it shows off the shape well. It looks clean, but the panel gaps around the front bumper don’t look quite right, like maybe it got a little bump in front. It’s the kind of thing I wouldn’t even bother to call out on a Hyundai Accent or something, but this is no Hyundai Accent.
It’s an old joke that the purchase price of a cheap old luxury car is just a down payment, and that is absolutely the case here. Neither one of these is something you can drive home in. And in either case, it’s going to be a labor of love. Which one would you rather revive: the ultra-rare boutique classic, or the ultra-complicated twelve-cylinder exotic?
Not setting foot in some rando’s storage unit. I’ll part out the BMW and make a tidy profit.
Well, this was easy…that bimmer w/ the big ol’ V12 is too awesome to pass up. That will be a really fun car and it’s worth it; despite all the headaches, repairs costs, etc. I’d fix the head gasket and fix it up real good that way when it’s working well I can truly enjoy it for what it is. Maybe even eventually manual swap it if that’s possible. I had never heard of Bitter- they do sound interesting w/ their history and everything but w/ the shape this one’s in and hard to find parts the BMW wins for me
Sitting this one out.
The Bitter will not be road worthy without many hundreds of hours of work…and then other than being rare…its not all that exotic. Possible headaches finding parts…even though they may be available in Europe. Has anyone actually found it easy to obtain parts for a rare vehicle from parts distributor/salvager for whom English is not their native tongue? A part may arrive…but more times than not…its not what you were describing you needed and then good luck returning.
The Bimmer is a beautiful sculpture. Peak GT with massive engine. Unfortunately, I still remember my brother sitting in his gorgeous Trump Stag running the power windows up and down using the only reliable motor in the car. Slabbing two engines together is less expensive than designing a new block…but the outcome is rarely the sum of the parts.
I’d bet a bottle of Underberg (another German bitter – see what i did there?) that the current owner of the Bitter SC had big dreams, spent more on the car than he should have, and promptly ran into the problems you outlined and is now trying to sell to cut his losses.
The Bitter is from an analog era and as such far easier to maintain or engine swap if needed. The Opel underpinnings were common in Europe, then they will be available somewhere for a price. I wouldn’t sweat originality in the condition it is in. The bespoke glass, dash, body and most trim look intact.
You will never make either one good for what good examples cost.
Both of these look like not terribly fun ways to go broke and/or have a garage bay taken up by a never-ending project. Neither.
Wow this was heartbreaking. I voted for the 850 because duh, it’s beautiful. The Bitter was interesting, but research told me it’s over priced for the condition. An 850 12 with engine issues is a massive nope, but at that price… LS conversion? I know someone who has/had an 850 and by all accounts working on it or its engine are a nightmare. But, come on… look at it!!
It’s been done before!
OK, I like both cars. But these two? Big bucket of NOPE for me.
I would take the 850, a wallet draining experience but fun at the same time.
When it comes to looks, the 840/850 is my all-time favorite BMW. Such an evil looking wedge. Sort of like a Doberman, especially in black over tan. Due to the finicky complexity of the 12 I’d go for a 840. And since I’m an old man with no testosterone-fueled delusions of being a race driver, an automatic is fine for me.
Although in real life I’d hold out for a manual with the larger engine and one that’s in better shape the Bitter SC is one of my all time dream cars. In fact, since my parents live not too far from there I’d have to be tempted by this one at at a lower price I’d even think about taking a crack at it.
With that said, I get why the vast majority will vote the BMW – the 850 is also a car I’d be happy to own and even if the engine needs work it seems like a pretty good starting point with the understanding you’ll need to put more money into it.
There is one of those 850s for sale near me but manual and with a parts car for 18k but it has ‘electrical’ issues so is probably a parts car
BMW please
(see what I did there?)
The Bitter SC is very cool, but way more of a project than I would want to take on. I’ll go with the 850i and use the leftover money to have a BMW mechanic take care of the head gasket and the other problems that you know they will find once they have it in the shop.
It’s a real testament to BMW that I’m not sure which one of these would be more expensive to get running.
BMW. Keep on using me til you use me up.
I’ve always loved the look of the 850, as a kid I had pictures of them on my wall that I cut out of Car&Driver. I don’t know the pricing on these, but maybe it’s worth the money to buy a better one.
If this one IS super cheap, maybe toss in a bottle of stop leak and cross my fingers.
I’d take the 850i if I had to, but the interior in it is NOT in good condition. Leather looks bad in every seat, it’s missing seat belt parts, the carpet is dirty AF and there are a bunch of scratches visible in the instrument cluster pic. I’ve seen cleaner BMW interiors at my local Pick-n-Pull (and frequently get the seats out of them.)
The problems you mentioned here are the cheapest and easiest to rectify. Hire a detailer offer him double his usual rate and sit down with a six pack of Meister Brau and watch him work.
True, but in my years of car buying, I’ve come to realize that people who take care of the inside of a car typically take care of the mechanical stuff, too.
The BMW will be a nicer place to sit in while contemplating my life choices.
And IF I could get it running, it would be a great GT car.
I like the Bitter, but would have to accept it as a lawn ornament at best. I don’t have the wallet depth to attempt to make it and keep it running. Nor talent I suppose. Probably similar to the Beemer V12, but I do believe they still offer some parts for these 850’s.
I enthusiastically voted for the V12 Bimmer. Yes all day on that one! Complicated? Sure. But when it’s back on the road, it will be glorious.
I am in the agreement the SC is just notdesirable enough and the condition is questionable.
I do have a soft spot for 850i’s. Not sure if this generation V12 has the VANOS grenade issue, but this is one of BMW’s finest looking sh#t boxes.
Ugh – this is definitely a “neither” day. If forced to choose, though, I’ll take the Bitter. How often do you have a car in which the name reflects exactly how you feel about it a year into the project?
The Bitter is interesting, but I’m getting medieval dungeon vibes from the photos. I feel like there is a non-trivial chance your organs will end up harvested to sell on the black market if you go look at that car.
I’m going with the BMW. I don’t want it, but my self preservation instincts lead me to conclude it is the better choice.
Out of perverse nostalgia I’ll take the Bitter, but only after negotiating that price down. I saw one at an auto show in the 80s along with a gray import Citroën CX.
I would rather deal with importing old GM parts than a broken V12 BMW