- A one-off 1978 512 BB modified by the king of 1980s supercar tuners is for sale.
- The flat-12 engine churns out 644 hp thanks to Koenig’s twin-turbo conversion.
- One year after it rolled off the assembly line, the 512 got the widebody treatment .
In 2025, Mansory is the go-to tuning house for supercar owners who want to give their exotic the OTT treatment. But back in the 1970s and 1980s, before Kourosh Mansory had even thought of setting up shop, super rich car nuts beat a path to Willy Koenig’s door. Now, one of the ex-racer’s rarest creations has come up for sale.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f”);
}
});
Related: If ’80s Excess Had A Car, It Would Be Koenig’s 911 Turbo Road Runner
The classic supercar you’re looking at started life as a 1978 Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer, but it didn’t stay that way for long. A year after getting his hands on the keys, its first owner sent it to Hanover-based Koening Specials in Germany, where Willy’s gang gave it their widebody conversion, Campagnolo wheels, a suspension upgrade, and some engine work.
Turning Up the Boost
Ferrari rated the 512 BB’s 4.9-liter, 180-degree 12-cylinder engine at 355 hp (360 PS), which was big power for the day. But Koenig’s traditional breathing mods lifted output to 444 hp (450 PS), way beyond anything a stock production car from any automaker delivered.
For a while it was enough. But in 1986, the Ferrari’s owner sent it back to Koenig for a proper beast-mode conversion. The engineers rebuilt the engine with stronger internals, swapped the carbs for fuel injection, and added a pair of Rajay turbochargers.
Rock n Roll Classics
Power jumped to 644 hp (653 PS) at a time when the car world was in awe of the 449 hp (455 PS) of the then new Lamborghini Countach Quattrovalvole. By comparison, Ferrari’s own Testarossa only made 385 hp (390 PS). And all that while driver assist systems such as stability and traction control were still years away. Ferrari didn’t produce a factory road car with more power than this Koenig until 2002 when it revealed the 651 hp (660 PS) Enzo.
How Much Will It Cost Me?
Now for sale out of Belgium’s Rock n Roll Classics for €249,900 (£215k / $292k) and displaying just 10,000 miles (16,000 km) on its odo, the one-off Koenig 512 looks like a bargain when you could pay 15-30 percent more for a stock example that’s much less powerful and common. For many years, some collectors turned their noses up at older modified supercars but appreciation is growing rapidly, and surely prices will follow.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751”);
}
});
If your wallet’s fat, your ego’s bigger, and you miss the era of questionable hairstyles and turbo lag, this Koenig 512 might be calling your name. Check out the listing here before another lunatic signs the paperwork.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751”);
}
});