Koenig’s Wild Child: The 1993 Koenig Specials Ferrari F48
Built to Break Necks - and Rules
If you're the kind of collector who plays by the rules, this isn’t your car. The Koenig Specials Ferrari F48 is what happens when a mad genius with racing pedigree looks at Maranello’s mid-engine darling and decides: “It’s not enough.”
Only seven F48s were ever made. Just three in right-hand drive. And this one? It's the only street-legal, LTA-approved right-hand drive unit in all of Asia. A unicorn by every measure - brutal, beautiful, and born to stand out.
Willy Koenig: Ferrari’s Favorite Outlaw
Back in the '90s, Ferrari had one foot on the brake pedal. Enter Willy Koenig, an ex-racing driver and self-declared horsepower anarchist. Koenig is the man who looked at a Ferrari and said, “Cool… but what if it was twice as powerful and looked like it escaped from Le Mans?”
Willy Koenig (Willy König) was a gentleman racer turned renegade tuner who founded Koenig Specials GmbH in 1977 after deciding Ferrari’s road cars weren’t nearly wild enough. Drawing from his experience behind the wheel of icons like the Ferrari 250 GT SWB, Koenig began transforming exotics into unhinged, turbocharged monsters. His signature builds like the 1000 hp Koenig Competition Evolution (based on the Testarossa) and the widebody Koenig F48 (based on the Ferrari 348 TS) combined F1-inspired aggression with outrageous power, often doubling factory output. Mercedes, Porsche, BMW, even Lambos - nobody was safe from his scalpel. He was a tuner before it was cool - blending raw power, racing pedigree, and unapologetic design to create some of the wildest Euro exotics the world has ever seen. He wasn’t waiting for Ferrari’s next move. He made his own.
The F48 is his full-send remix of the 348 TS. Think Testarossa-inspired widebody, F40 aero cues, and twin turbos strapped to a 3.4L V8. It wasn’t subtle - and that was the point. While the purists clutched pearls, the real ones got it: Koenig wasn’t disrespecting Ferrari. He was finishing what they started.
Throughout the '80s and early '90s, Koenig’s cars were poster material for an era obsessed with excess. By the late '90s, increasing regulation, brand protection (Ferrari sued him for using the prancing horse logo), and changing tastes led to the decline of Koenig Specials. Now, with analog supercars and tuner-era rarities back in vogue, Koenig’s wild creations are being rediscovered - not just as collectible cars, but as time-capsule artifacts from a fearless chapter of automotive history.
The Build: Analog Violence, Dialed to Eleven
This isn’t just some flashy body kit on a tired platform. The F48 is pure Koenig DNA - engineered with intent, tuned with teeth.
- Engine: Koenig twin-turbocharged 3.4L V8
- Output: Over 600 bhp (double the stock 348)
- Gears: 5-speed gated manual - raw, mechanical, unapologetic
- Cooling: Tropicalised intercoolers to handle Singapore heat
- Brakes: Alcon BTCC-spec racing brakes - because it needs them
She’s savage on throttle, surprisingly composed under pressure, and makes all the right noises. Fully serviced in 2021, including belts and water pump, and comes with full documentation. It’s hard to come by another quite like it.
Aesthetic: Loud in All the Right Ways
The F48 doesn’t ask for your attention - it demands it.
Finished in factory Giallo Modena, the widened haunches and race-ready aero scream F40 vibes. Inside, it’s just as serious:
- Carbon-fiber Koenig racing buckets
- MOMO wheel with Koenig horn
- Boost gauge watching over you like a hawk
Every detail is functional. Every inch screams purpose.
Underground Royalty: The One That Almost Got Away
We’ve seen a lot of Koenig builds come through over the years - most of them questionably modified, lacking provenance, or straight-up unverified. This one? It had all the markers of the real deal. We knew it from the moment we saw it.
The other two RHD F48s? One’s in the UK. The other? In Germany. This one in Singapore? It’s rare.
That’s not just collector-grade. That’s collector-grail.
Market Rarity & Investment Outlook
We won’t throw darts here - tuner-era icons are on fire in the market. Koenig-modified cars, once considered too wild for concours lawns, are now museum-worthy artifacts from an era where performance trumped polish.
- Total Production: 7 Koenig F48s worldwide
- RHD Units: Only 3 confirmed
- Street Legal in Asia: 1 known (this one)
- Original Build Cost: Over $1.5M SGD
- Current Market Valuation: ~$2.1M SGD, and rising (Source: Dealer market trends & recent private sale comps in Asia-Pacific)
- Trend: Period-correct, analog-mod exotics (Koenig, RUF, Brabus) are experiencing double-digit annual growth, particularly among Gen X and early Millennial collectors.
This isn’t just a garage trophy - it’s an appreciating asset with a cult following. And the supply? Locked down tighter than Koenig’s turbo maps.
Final Word: For Those Who Don’t Ask Permission
The F48 isn’t for Ferrari purists. It’s for disruptors, visionaries, and rebels with taste. If you see the genius in a twin-turbo, widebody Ferrari that was never supposed to exist - then you already know what this is.
You’re not just buying a car. You’re taking a piece of automotive mythology off the black market and giving it a proper home.
Ready to own one of the rarest, rawest Ferraris never built by Ferrari? The 1993 Koenig Specials Ferrari F48 is now available to international collectors. We don’t do listings, we curate. Join a circle where provenance, performance, and prestige converge. Contact Auto Icons today via Whatsapp, email, or submit your information on the contact form for full dossier and private showing.