Koenig Specials GmbH
Koenig Specials GmbH
Koenig Specials GmbH (known widely as Koenig) is a German tuning house based in Munich that specialised in modifications to European luxury cars but gained notability in the 1980s and 1990s for their performance modifications to Ferraris. Some of its most notable works included a twin-turbo Ferrari Testarossa (known as the Koenig Competition) that produced 1,000 bhp, a highly unusual output for cars at the time, as well as the 850 bhp Ferrari F50. Koenig also entered into automobile production with its road-going version of the Porsche 962 known as the Koenig C62, therefore becoming the first road-legal Group C-based car.
Many of its cars have been featured in non-German mainstream publications such as Road & Track, Top Gear and Sports Car International. Car magazine described its Competition Evolution as "the most famous modified supercar of the 1980s".
The founder Willy König
Willy König, sometimes spelt as Willy Koenig was born on February 2, 1938. He originally became wealthy from publishing, and was able to afford race cars to race. He began his racing career in 1961 with a Formula Junior Cooper that he acquired from the Formula One driver Wolfgang von Trips.[1][2]
One of his early motorsport achievements included winning the Deutsche Bergmeisterschaft (German Hillclimbing Championship) in 1962 with a Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta under the pseudonym Robert Frank. As a result, he was invited personally by Enzo Ferrari to an event held in his honour at Maranello. Up until the end of the decade, König raced a variety of cars including the Lola T70, various Fiat Abarths, Borgward Isabella TS and Ford GT40.[5][6][7] He retired from professional racing after 1969 to devote more time to his business; he then raced occasionally in club meetings and later sold his printing business to focus on his thriving car tuning business.
In the late 1980s, he raced the BMW 320i Turbo and the BMW M1 Procar with his son, Walter. As well, he won the domestic Spezial-Tourenwagen-Trophy (de) in 1990 with his Porsche 935 K3 and competed in the Interserie with a Porsche 962. He additionally survived a 250 km/h crash at the Rindt Kurve during a test drive at the Österreichring in his 935 K3.
Souurce: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koenig_Specials
Willy Koenig started independent tuning operations in 1974 with the first Ferrari 365 BB supplied to Germany.
This was followed by tuning on a large number of Ferrari models, and then on vehicles from other exclusive makes, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lamborghini, Jaguar, and Porsche, among others.
Racing was the key to the KOENIG SPECIALS tuning concept.
It was in 1961 that Willy König acquired a Cooper from Graf Berghe von Trips for Junior Formula Racing.
In 1962, Willy König was German Mountain Champion in a Ferrari Berlinetta, and was invited by Enzo Ferrari personally to an event held in his honour in Maranello.
Willy König drove many legendary racing cars, including the Ferrari 275 GTB Competitions, Ford GT 40, Lola T 70, Abarth, Lotus, and many more besides.
From 1987 to 1990, Willy König drove in the BMW M 1 Procar, the Porsche 962 C1, the Porsche 935 Kz3-Le Mans and in 1990 he was German STT-Champion with the 935 K3.
Motor racing activities over more than 30 years of Willy König, continued by his son Walter König, allowed for the experience gained from racing to be introduced into the production of sportscars and exclusively tuned vehicles, as well as establishing the intimate links with the professional racing teams, engineers, designers, and development and manufacturing companies.
Right from the start, the philosophy of KOENIG-SPECIALS has been to built the ultimate in sportscars for the road, a synthesis of aerodynamics and design, with individual sporty or exclusive interior fittings and optimum driving characteristics, thanks to improved chassis, racing brakes, wide rims and tyres, sports exhaust systems, engine performance values, and, at the customer's request, with turbo, supercharger, or high-performance engines.
The overall range of performance includes the tuning and conversion of vehicles, and the supply of technical components, body parts, and conversion-kits.
Based on the 8-cylinder Ferrari model, turbo engines of 295kW/400h.p. to 440kW/600 h.p. are built, with complete bodywork and vehicle modification.
The 365 BB and 512 BB have been fitted with a 330 kW 450 h.p. engine and complete racing modification, suitable also for conventional road traffic, and have been successfully used in the racing environment.
High-performance twin-turbo engines are produced for nearly all 12-cylinder models from the 512 BBi onwards.
Only the finest materials are used, tested on test stands, in wind tunnels, and under extreme racing and road conditions, and tested and approved by the German Technical Supervisory Authority (TÜV).
This is how the most successful model of all the KOENIG SPECIALS, the KOENIG COMPETITION, came into being, based on the Ferrari Testarossa, with a 735kW/1.000 h.p. bi-turbo engine, which at the time was superior to all sportscars intended for road use. Cabrio designs were also made.
Among the exclusive coupés and limousines, the Mercedes SEC was taken as a basis, and, in an elaborate and sophisticated design and with optimum technology, achieved absolute sales records worldwide.
Over the years KOENIG models and special designs have also been delivered to celebreties, such as the Diablo Special Roadster with an 590kW/800 h.p. twin-turbo engine.
The most successful model on a BMW base is the 840/850 Coupé with a supercharger-engine with up to 370kW/500 h.p., and complete KOENIG SPECIALS modification.
High-performance supercharger engines are available for a lot of BMW models.
The KOENIG C 62, based on the Porsche 962 C1 racing sports car, was a successful creation from KOENIG SPECIALS as the first racing sports car approved for conventional road use, with TÜV approval, and won worldwide acclaim. High-performance supercharger and turbo engines are available for a lot of Porsche models.
Another amazing development from KOENIG SPECIALS, based on the Ferrari F 50, is the 625kW/850 h.p. /800 NM bi-turbo engine with improved aerodynamics, chassis, and brakes, and at a power-to-weight ration of only 1.47 kg per h.p., is one of the fastest road sportscars anywhere.
The respected German motor trade magazine "Sportauto" named this model as Readers' Choice as Sportscar of the Year 1999, in the highest sportscar class.