Guide: Koenig Specials Ferrari BB
Background
Willy Koenig (Willi König) began racing an Alfa Romeo Giulietta soon after his 20th birthday. He quickly moved on to an Abarth Record Monza complete with 700cc dual overhead camshaft engine and then a DKW-powered Cooper Formula Junior.
During those early days, Koenig raced under the pseudonym Robert Frank to avoid his mother finding out about his activities.
In 1961, Willy Koenig purchased a Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta (chassis 1875 GT) with which he won the 1962 German Hillclimb Championship.
After a few years off to focus on his burgeoning printing and publishing business, Koenig returned to competition in 1968. He acquired a Ferrari 275 GTB (chassis 07899) and that season, won over a dozen hillclimbs.
For 1969, Koenig upgraded to an ex-Scuderia Brescia Corse Ford GT40 but only contested a handful of events.
Koenig took a second break from motor sport in 1970 as his business continued to grow.
In 1974, he purchased one of the first 365 GT4 BBs imported to Germany. Koenig began to modify the car to improve its performance and became a frequent attendee at track days and Ferrari club events.
It was not long before other BB owners asked Koenig to modify their cars as well.
Koenig Specials
Within a short space of time, Koenig decided to retire from his publishing business to focus full-time on tuning cars for customers.
In 1977, Koenig opened his first commercial workshop at Schellingstrasse 44 in downtown Munich.
At this stage, Willy Koenig’s BB conversions included simple wheelarch extensions to cover wider wheels and tyres and a rather crude deep front spoiler. In addition to these fibreglass body add-ons, an uprated clutch, custom luggage and sports exhaust system were also offered.
Expansion
As the West German economy flourished, the demand for personalised high end motor cars exploded and Willy Koenig’s company found itself at the vanguard of a booming scene; a new generation of customer with seemingly limitless funds was now prepared to pay big bucks for heavily modified Porsches, Ferraris and Mercedes-Benz.
Before long, the list of tuning parts on offer from Koenig Specials had grown substantially. In the early 1980s, the firm moved to a larger headquarters a couple of kilometres away at 3 Mittererstrasse.
In addition to Ferrari BBs, the firm began to offer modified 308s plus E, S and SL class Mercedes-Benz and 6-series BMWs.
Koenig’s creations were taken to the next level with the arrival of Franz Albert to head up the engineering department and chief stylist, Vittorio Strosek.
Koenig Specials Ferrari BB Tuning Kit
For the BB, Strosek designed a fibreglass bodykit that radically transformed the car’s appearance to something even more extreme than the Lamborghini Countach S.
A new single piece front bumper incorporated a bigger and deeper front spoiler but still housed the standard BB grille and fog lights. Down each flank, Strosek added side skirts.
The new Koenig body kit also featured an integrated flip up spoiler across the trailing edge of the rear bodywork. An optional F1-style aerofoil mounted on twin pylons was offered as well.
To improve cooling, a pair of air boxes could be added on top of the engine cover.
Smaller wing mirrors further improved aerodynamics.
Overall, the effect was visually stunning and Koenig could rightfully claim to offer arguably the most outlandish road car on the market.
However, the Koenig conversion was more than just skin deep - also available were a host of mechanical upgrades.
The full Koenig engine conversion included sport camshafts, racing pistons with special connecting rods and modified cylinder heads with enlarged valves and optimised combustion chambers.
There were also two different exhausts: an entry level sports system that freed up around 30bhp or a full race system with or without flame thrower.
All told, up to 450bhp could be extracted from Ferrari’s venerable all-alloy Flat 12.
While generally described as a Flat 12 over-square Boxer motor, the engine’s dimensions were actually more akin to a V-banked unit with an angle of 180°. The engine was mounted in unit with a five-speed gearbox positioned below the crankshaft. This made the system as compact as possible, but inevitably led to a fairly high centre of gravity.
The engine used in the 365 GT4 BB displaced 4390cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 81mm and 71mm respectively. It featured belt-driven dual overhead camshafts for each bank of cylinders whereas previous Ferrari motors had used chains. It also ran wet-sump lubrication with two separate oil systems per bank. A single distributor was used along with electronic ignition and one spark plug for each cylinder.
Compression was set at 8.8:1 and four downdraught Weber 40 IF3C carburettors were installed. In standard tune, peak output was 360bhp at 7500rpm and 302lb-ft at 3900rpm.
In five-litre trim (as used by the 512 BB and subsequent fuel-injected 512i), bore and stroke were taken out by 1mm and 7mm respectively. This gave an overall displacement of 4942cc. A dry-sump lubrication system was now fitted and compression was increased to 9.2:1. Initially, the four Weber 40 IF3 C carbs were retained. Factory output in this configuration was 340bhp at 6800rpm and 333lb-ft at 4600rpm.
The advent of a Bosch K Jetronic fuel-injection system in 1981 saw peak power and torque developed at 800rpm and 400rpm less respectively.
For the Koenig team to have extracted 450bhp from these engines gives some idea about the quality of their engineering.
The factory’s standard five-speed gearbox was always retained, but a triple-plate clutch was usually installed.
To improve handling, uprated springs and Koni shocks were normally fitted. Likewise, stopping power was enhanced with uprated discs and calipers. Cockpit-adjustable brake bias was another option.
In the early days, Koenig routinely fitted Cromodora’s wide five spoke centre locking wheels. These 15-inch diameter rims were 9-inches wide at the front (up from 7.5-inches on the standard car) and 11-inches wide at the back (up from 9-inches). The wheels could be painted or highly polished and were normally fitted with Pirelli’s low profile P7 tyres. Wheel spacers could be installed to further widen the track.
Ferrari’s original tubular steel semi monocoque was left unchanged as were the subframes either end that carried the combined engine/gearbox and suspension.
As per the factory specification, the suspension was independent all round with unequal length wishbones, coil springs, telescopic shocks and anti-roll bars. The back end used a twin spring/shock assembly per side to counter the additional weight.
Koenig could equip interiors with state-of-the-art sound systems, special leather finishes and racing harnesses. Small diameter sports steering wheels were often installed along with custom gauges and occasionally, bucket seats.
Later on, Strosek updated the BB body kit to incorporate slatted dummy intakes ahead of the rear wheels and enlarged step-in sections to blend in with the ventilated rear apron. Two central pylons became common for the rear spoiler.
Other new additions included custom centre lock Koenig-BBS three-piece racing wheels. As per the widest Cromodora rims, these measured 9 x 15-inches at the front, 13 x 15-inches at the rear and came shod with low profile Pirelli P7 tyres.
Turbocharging
Arguably the biggest step forward was the advent of aftermarket turbo technology for which Koenig became an industry leader.
In 1983, Koenig Specials began to offer an intercooled forced induction version of the BB engine. It was equipped with two Franz Albert-modified Rajay turbos of the type normally fitted to aircraft.
The result was a motor that pumped out up to 650bhp and gave a top speed of 205mph.
A reinforced gearbox and clutch were fitted along with new pistons and camshafts.
Kevlar body panels were also offered complete with new shoulder-mounted air scoops.
By this time, normally black body trim like grilles and vents were routinely painted body colour.
Summary
Precisely how many BBs were converted by Koenig is unclear. Customers could opt for just the cosmetic accessories or go the whole way and request all the mechanical upgrades.
Additionally, a number of Koenig body kits found their way to England where they were further modified by Emblem Sports Cars in Blandford who were the premier builders of custom Ferraris in the UK.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Koenig - https://www.koenig-specials.com/ & Supercar Nostalgia
