Ferrari 308 Qv Koenig (1983)

Hi all.

Just joined this forum from Sweden. Here in Sweden it is most about the newer Ferraris and not so much about the old classics so I was very happy to find this site. I am an owner of a Ferrari 308 Qv who was converted by Koenig directly from the Ferrari Factory. New body kit, Stiffer and lower suspension ( 3 cm), Wider wheels 225/50/15 in the front and 285/45/15 at the back. Updated and better brakes, updated Cooler system and Oil cooler system. Complete engine rebuild with pistons in titanium and a Turbo charger / Intercooler and a water tank that cool the air in to the turbo. We think it is about 400 bhp.

I found this car in Germany and it had stod still for almost 12 years. I imported it to Sweden and together with a good mechanic went true the whole engine and finally after 10 months It run’s as it should. I use to own a 308 qv from 1985, and I always loved the design but the lack of performance made me sell it. I was looking for a 355 when I stumbled on this car and I jest had to have it. There was only twelv made from Koenig. When I contacted Koenig for a lot of questions of how they solved things back in the 80´s they still had posters of my car ( GTb ) so I order that as well.

Sorry if my English is not so good and it is fun to find a Ferrari 308/328 forum. Post some pictures of my car and see what you think.

Best of Regards

// MrSweden
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Welcome!

There's some purists here who will give you some grief about the conversion, but I think it's a great representation of what was really happening in the time period. We all remember the wild widebody kits on every brand and crazy horsepower wars.

Thanks for the pictures. How's the driving experience?

 

Nice MrSweden, those kit are unobtanium

I also have the Koenig front Spoiler

I just installed it about 3 weeks ago.
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Yes I know that a lot of people will have a lot to say about doing this to a pice of art. But I jest love the car, and as you say it is also a piece of history. I have owed the original for seven years before I sold it so I think I can take the comments ;-).

Regarding the handling of the car, The stiffer suspension has done so all front end and back end dipping as gone, the wider front wheels and the deeper spoiler does so the car has so much front grip, jest point the car were you want to go and it goes there, even under full throttle. The turbo installation, we all know how sensitive the Ferrari engine is but I must say that in this case the Germans and the Italians has worked well together, it is almost no turbo lag of the 80,s. The turbo come´s in at 3000 rpm and gives full turbo Power ( About 0,8 bar ) at 6500 - 7000 rpm. It is so fun and easy to drive. The water cooler system for the turbo air, who should give about 35 bhp extra kicks in at 6000 rpm, at the same time a little green light on the dashboard tells that the water cooler system is active, this was only on the early turbo race cars. I also must say that the upgraded brakes who was state of the art 1983 are very good. I never felt that the old 308 I had could stop me as fast as this one can. You feel total confident in the car. And when you go on a track day you keep up with the 355 and if there is not to long straits even the 360. And they cant believe it.

Thanks for the nice welcome

MrSweden

 

Hi Mike.

Nice, is that a 308i? And I must ask you were did you find the spoiler, is KOENIG still sell them?

Best Regards

MrSweden

 

4 years or so ago I called Koenig. They still had all the old molds, and for the right sum (let's just say you could buy a ratty 308 for similar money) they would be willing to drag them out and lay up a full kit for you.

 

Hey Mr. Sweden. Welcome!

As long as you like your car, who cares what other people think. I'm sure it's a blast with the 400hp on tap.

Jim

 

Hi Mr. Sweden,

I too own a pure Koenig built 308. Mine has in addition to all the engine modifications, an uprated gearbox, suspension and AP Racing brakes. I recently replaced the original Rajay turbo unit with a Garrett. It is fun to surprise many modern cars with its high end speed. Mine has a very low compression ratio though and it was designed for highway running.

ENJOY!!!

 

Does the design mostly follow the path of the 208 Turbo italian versions?

 

Here's a picture of another Koenig. Hope it is uploaded.
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Very nice.

Thanks for giving us a look.

 

Nice cars guys, thanks for sharing.

 

Your English is fine man. Better than my Swedish! The car looks great. I am curious, do you know how the brakes, cooling system and oil cooler were updated? Is the turbo part of the original updates? Did that steering wheel come with the original kit also? Do you know whose wheel it is?

 

Your English is very good and your car is totally amazing! Enjoy it and use it in good health.

 

Hi MrSweden.
Thanks for joining Fchat. I'm also a new fchatter and just I've bought my first Ferrari. Nice people here!!! You will found lots of stuff, knowledge and friends. Nice car and very representative of the modding era. Your english for sure is better than mine!!!! ;-)))

Enjoy

 

To Jimangle:[/B] Thanks man, it is so fun to drive to Ferrari and other sport cars meetings. A lot of People remember the 80´s and I always get a smile back.

To CTK: Looks like we have the same kit, did you get more power with the Garrett or way did you change, I did a total restoration of my Rajay and I agree with the fun to surprise newer cars. Could you please post some pictures of your car as well. The picture you posted, looks like a 328, I spoke to Koenig about there twin turbo layot and 455 bhp on the 328. He said that it was not very reliable and very very expensive. He said that he prefers the solution with the single turbo charger.

To F308Jack: To my poor knowledge of the 208 turbo from Ferrari ( I read a little about it ) The installation from Koenig is an in-house design by a Franz Albert who Koeing worked a lot with to do all det special cars they did. So they have not looked at all on Ferraris design/installation.

To BwanaJoe: We start with the brakes, they came from AP Racing I don’t the remember exactly but I think the diameter are 33 cm and the with are 35 mm. The oil cooling system is upgraded with one moore oil cooler and both of them are move to the front of the car. They sit behinde the Flashlights. The cooling system is upgraded with bigger cooling pipes and I think they also have drilled bigger cooling wholes in the engine. If I compare it with my old Ferrari 308 who did not like standing still to long before you could see the engine temperature rice. It is totaly stable in my new car. The turbo installation was a state of the art installation in the 80´s, all turbo parts came from Koenig who also rebuilder the engine and the clutch and gearbox. No Ferrari OEM parts was used. Regarding the steering wheel I bought that myself, but I have seen the same wheel in newer Koeing cars. It is a MOMO and you can find it on their webpage. I do must give you a varning, I have taken a lot of "heat" here in Sweden because they don’t like the steering wheels design. I do like the design, and it is great shape and an extra plus is that you get extra legroom during the design.

To carguyjohn350/Magnum Thanks, I love this forum and It is great to have found you all Ferrari freaks here. Thanks for all the nice things you say about my car. And I love it

 

I have owned this car for 12 years and the biggest challenge is getting parts for it. It is a RHD built for the UK market and the car was built at Koenig complete and not a kit assembled unit. I am the second owner and bought it from the original owner after he tired of it. The car is a 308GTSi QV. It is single turbo unit with no water injection but with a air to water intercooler by Albert and Behr. The Rajay unit produces power from 5000rpm onwards whereas the Garrett starts at 4000rpm. Boost is set at 0.8bar. I have removed the entire K-Jetronic system as the parts were no longer available and the engine was not running well as a result. In the 12years, I have replaced the system with a coil on stick ignition system and linked it with a digital engine management system (similar to a SDS). Like you, I got a lot of help and encouragement from the older chatters who were incredibly knowledgeable and helpful with advice. My Koenig / Koni suspension has been replaced with the QA1 suspension system and the brakes with 320mm rotors with 4 pot calipers that will stop the car very well. The Garrett is a massive improvement over the Rajay. The rated output for the turbo unit is 650HP but with it limited to 0.8bar, it is probably well over 400BHP of the original. I am in the midst of updating my intercooler as it started leaking internally recently. Will look for photos to post. i like to drive it!

 

ctk, what kind of mileage have you done with your car?

The Koenig cars have something special. Willy Koenig was a very unique person, and could perplex you beyond belief. Very competent driver too, I'll never forget him driving his very fast Boxer around the various tracks. It took a 308 GTM to beat him at Zandvoort.
That said, he always gave me the impression of practicing sort of 'hit & miss' type of engineering; if it breaks, open your wallet and replace it. I remember well one occasion at the Nurburgring where one of his clients, running a 512 Boxer with open velocity stacks and air-intakes at the rear edge of the roof said he thought his car was running at 11 cylinders. Open came the clamshell, no obvious faults, but not running right. WK's comment: Just drive it, 1 off, you still have another 11 cylinders left. Clamshell closed, end of story.
Albert was very well known in Germany for his tuning work. I think they started out re-grinding cams. Whatever work I've seen from them (not that much) always looked like good quality.

The German Autobahnen of course created a willing market for Koenig's specials, and boy, some were really wild!

 

Here is a link on thier website about thier History.

http://www.koenig-specials.com/history.html

Best Regards

Mr Sweden

 

Hi MrSweden,

Thanks for pics and welcome on Fchat!
Your car made me remember the first Ferraris I saw, when I was 13 years old and starting to enjoy those amazing italian cars. I lived at that time in Germany and saw some 308 Koenig.
One white GTB looked like yours, but had a huge rear spoiler..
I am a bit surprised when ou mentionned that only 12 were made. Do you have this info from Koenig ? Is it twelve excactly like yours or twelve 308 conversions ?

If you are interested, I can scan and dispatch my old pics of the 2 Koenig 308 I saw (white GTB; red GTS).

Regards,

 

Hi, thanks for your input.
Regarding the rear spoiler it was an option to all Koeing cars, but even me thinks it is to much. According to my knowligh there should only be 12 Koenig 308 GTS. Maby there are more of the GTB versions. I do not know anything about how many 328 Koenig made.

Yes I would love if you could scan your old pics.

Best Regards

MrSweden

 

Beautiful car Mr. Sweden!

Thanks for sharing pictures.

 

Here's another shot of the Silver Koenig.
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I saw it a few month ago...

very ugly...

 

Those were the times...
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