Few things in the automotive world are as sensitive to taste as tuning. Today, it is mainly companies such as Mansory, Techart and Brabus that set the tone when it comes to modifying expensive cars, but those creations almost pale in comparison to what Koenig did in the 1980s. ‘Wide’ is the magic word.
Koenig Specials was founded in 1977 by Willy König. König got a taste for motor racing early on. In 1961 he started with a Formula Junior Cooper and a year later he won the German hill climbing championship in a Ferrari 250 GT SWB. As a result, he was still invited by Enzo Ferrari to Maranello. Il Commendatore was less happy with what happened in the following decade, when König started customizing cars. It all started in 1974 with a Ferrari 365 BB that he bought for himself. König was reportedly unhappy with the performance of his car and began modifying it. Ferrari was so angry about this that the prancing horse was no longer allowed to adorn Koenig’s cars.
The Koenig C 62, a racing car for street use.
His own 365 BB featured a large spoiler, wide rear fenders and a pronounced front bumper. König not only tackled his car from a cosmetic point of view, he also took care of the technology. At events he attracted a lot of attention and interest with his car and other owners asked him if he could do something like this for them. This led to the founding of the company Koenig Specials in 1977. It started with Ferraris, but eventually also various BMWs, Jaguars, Mercedes and Lamborghinis from that time were featured. In addition, Koenig even converted a Porsche 962 for street use, which became the Koenig C 62 shown above.
Not just appearance
Almost all of Koenig’s creations have one thing in common: they are very broad. The widebody kits of fiberglass flare considerably towards the rear, with the flanks often equipped with large air vents reminiscent of the Ferrari Testarossa. However, Koenig was there before. Incidentally, the Testarossa did not escape the clutches of the tuner and was made even wider. Koenig even made a convertible from the Testarossa! Most of Koenig’s creations were on characteristic golden wheels. The wide rear tires in particular look quite impressive. The larger spoiler work did not shy away from the tuner, but everything was of course carried out according to the wishes of the customer. In addition, the interior could also be flavored with all kinds of extravagant leather colors.
The roof off.
You might think that with such excesses the technical aspect gets less attention, but nothing could be further from the truth. Koenig increased the power considerably, often by adding turbos. For example, the Ferrari F50 suddenly delivered a power of 850 hp thanks to two turbos. Another startling creation is the Koenig F48, a Ferrari 348 that shows obvious similarities with the Ferrari F40 with its widebody kit. Thanks to various modifications to the engine and the addition of two turbos, the F48 delivered almost 600 hp even more power than the car from which it derived its appearance. It didn’t just stay with Ferrari: the Lamborghini Countach and Diablo were also fitted with a turbo kit and Koenig fitted the BMW 840 and 850i with a supercharger.
The Koenig F 48.
It’s going too far to list all of Koenig’s creations in this article, so we’ll pick out a few more startling ones. How about the Jaguar XJS Special, for example, where the extreme rear fenders do not really match the stately appearance of the British coupé. Or the Porsche 911 Turbo ‘Road Runner’ with the taillights of an Audi 200 and wide rear fenders that evoke associations with the Porsche 935. Koenig’s creations were most excessive from the late 1970s to the 1980s. In the 1990s, the economy deteriorated and external adjustments became more conservative. The KS360 based on the Ferrari 360 Modena, for example, lacks the wide rear fenders.
Also for the common man
Koenig still exists, but has focused on supplying parts. With that it can be reassured that today the tuner is only a shadow of what the company once was. Another tuner that took a similar approach to Koenig in the 1980s was Rieger, although this German tuner focused more on the models for the common man. One of the most startling models of Rieger is the Scirocco, which in some cases was fitted with the front of the Corrado and almost screamed the word ‘wrong’ thanks to a huge widebody kit. The company also converted the Scirocco into a convertible.
Other cars that the company ’embellished’ with a widebody kit included the BMW 3 Series, Volkswagen Golf and Corrado, Opel Kadett and Opel Calibra. Rieger still supplies body kits for modern cars such as the BMW 4 series and the Audi A3. However, the extreme excesses of yesteryear do not occur.