1977, the company
The foundation of Koenig Specials began in 1974 when Willy König bought one of the first Ferrari 365 GT4 BBs in West Germany, but was dissatisfied with its performance in comparison to the sports car racers he was accustomed to. His work eventually became so popular that when he attended Ferrari events, he was commissioned by other owners to carry out similar work for them once they learned that his car had been modified. His work initially began with addition of factory parts or parts copied from other racing cars, such as rear spoilers, wide wheels, three-plate clutches, and high performance exhausts.
Koenig's hobby grew, and it eventually became a business in 1977 with an aim to make Ferrari a "proper sportscars [sic] again". One of the early modifications offered consisted of a spoiler with crudely tacked on rear wheel arch extensions The company was named Koenig because there was a large German Ferrari dealer known as Konig (Auto-König), in addition to avoiding Anglicization of the name.
Additionally, he offered three different options for the Ferrari 365/512 BB, a high performance exhaust that produced a quoted 370 bhp; the addition of a high performance exhaust camshaft producing 400 bhp and a quoted 450 bhp for special pistons, modified cylinder heads, and rejetted carburetors, which was good for 4.5 seconds from 0–60 mph. If this wasn't enough for the owner, Koenig offered a twin-turbo conversion that consisted of a pair of Rajay turbos and intercoolers, which produced a total of 620 bhp. The 365/512 BB required a modified suspension and 9" front/13"rear wheels with uprated brakes to handle the power. With a large spoiler and every body panel (with the exception of the roof and upper front bodywork) replaced, the car was able to reach a claimed 0–60 mph in 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 206 mph.
As well, Koenig also offered heavy duty fiberglass wide bodykits, which was popular for cars of the time. Perhaps Koenig's most notable project was their work on the successor of the 512 BB, a modified version of the Ferrari Testarossa that debuted in the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show. It produced 710 bhp, 320 bhp over a stock Testarossa. This was followed up by the 800 bhp Competition (1988) that was good for 217 mph; its convertible version, the Competition Cabrio (1989), although being less powerful, was good for 198 mph. As Ferrari never offered a convertible because of the required significant amount of strengthening in the chassis required to make up for the lack of upper structure, the conversion cost US$55600 1989 alone. For those who wanted extra power, there was the Competition Evolution quoted at 1000 PS DIN, claiming a top speed of 230 mph and an estimated 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Koenig would also re-trim the interior to suit the client's specifications. The car's overall cost, including car with fully re-trimmed leather interior and a 1000w 16-speaker Kenwood audio system was reported to be US$595900 1990.
Some of its other notable modifications included a Ferrari F40 capable of producing 750 bhp, a single turbo 400 bhp Ferrari 308, a twin-turbo 850 bhp F50,[3] and a Porsche 911 with headlights and taillights from a 928 and Audi 200, respectively.
Koenig's regular collaborators included engine tuner and, who specialised in widebody kits. Its other outside collaborators included H&R (suspension) and later in the 1980s, OZ (wheels).
The company additionally branched out into offering kits or full conversions for other makes of vehicles, such as Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and Lamborghini.
The company branched out into car production with a replica of the Porsche 962, as a result, it became the first road-legal Group C/IMSA GTP type car.
