I bet if the Koenig design had the approval of Pininfarina or Ferrari, or was conceived by them, there wouldn't be that many here critisizing it.
It has nothing to do with approval. Some designs are timeless. It does not have that gelatinous razor blade look that Pininnfarina has. Some things are done because of manufacturing limitations but what Pininnfarina does is pure Italiano. I think the 308 is one of the most copied car designs I have ever seen and there are many versions. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Found these pics around the net. Perfect example. Sorry, not Koenig. Now, looking at this, you could have called this the "Ultimate 308" but that would not be Pininnfarina either. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think that had Ferrari ever made a competition version out of the 328 it would have looked a lot like the Koenig version. See for example the 575 GTC version vs the street version. Wider, smoother fenders and big rear spoiler. I'm a sucker for competition versions so maybe that's why the Koenig versions appeal to me. And Koenig also backs those wilder looks up with performance measures. It's not just all show and no go, allthough there are sure to be a number of Koenig customers who only opted for the cosmetical side.
Nope, ugly is ugly, regardless of who designed it. But, IT IS a personal opinion. We all see things differently. Personal taste is just that - personal. I don't expect you to share mine nor should you expect me to share yours. Its what makes the world go 'round. To be honest, I never really liked the F50 or the 348 and its Testarossa Jr. design. Pinninfarina had some busts too... 1970 Ferrari Modulo Pininfarina concept? But Koenig is not the first to take a good looking Ferrari and modify it ugly... 250 GT Breadvan?? (Bizzarrini/Volpi) No, IMHO, the evolution of the 308 was done, and done well... 288 GTO. (PinninFarina/Leonardo Fioravanti) But that is just my opinion and I don't expect anyone else to follow. And sometimes cars are so ugly, they are beautiful... Gumpert. Rick
Bad example... that is Glickenhaus' P4/5 tribute car. It was done on an Enzo base car BY Pininfarina. Rick
You are correct but only to a point. It is not just personal opinion...there is a consensus element involved which means there are standards. If it weren't so one could say the AMC Pacer is just as beautiful as the 308. This would, of course, be widely perceived as absurd. Though the lines aren't clear sometimes, make no mistake, there are lines and you are 100 percent correct "ugly is ugly" and Koenig has not improved the 308 design in any way.
Disagree, I don't care who approves what. Like Rick says "ugly is ugly". There are some Ferrari designs that, from a classically beautiful artistic design point of view, aren't great at all IMHO eg. the F40.
There's no amount of money anyone could pay me in order to convince me to scar my 328 with that or any other 'kit' period! Ah well to each his own I guess...but I still shudder at the thought.....to me a naturally beautiful woman does'nt need alot of makeup
Didn't Strosek do conversions under a firm that had his own name? I've been looking for some old Auto, Motor and Sport magazines to find some ads. Just looked it up and he is still in business.
thats right. but under his name he "only" did Porsches, Nissans and Lamborghinis. He still works for some other Tuners and companies, where you wouln´t mind his design!!
I don't care for the wing, mirrors or seats. I think it is, however, an examlpe of "form follows function". Wider tires to deal with added HP, wider body pannels to accommodate tires etc.. If the car had factory HP I would agree that the changes are not an improvement. I wouldn't modify my own car, but I wouldn't rule out one that was professionally modified to accommodate extra HP. Having said that, I would NEVER drive a car with a wing that big.
'I would NEVER drive a car with a wing that big." Some people like them big wings! - Original Plymouth Superbirds/Dodge Daytona's are bringing 300k plus! http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/attachments/f70/842d1249349290-if-given-chance-choose-1970-20plymouth-20superbird.jpg
My initial response was that "how could someone smart enough to earn the money to buy a Ferrari, do something so stupid as to modify it like that ?", and then I read on further and find that it was a "company" that did a run of 13, and I ask myself "what were they thinking ????" Those wide body plastic conversions Always look so tacky, whether it's a 280ZX, 308, corvette, or any other car... The designers at Nissan, GM, Ferrari, etc spend Years getting it right, and some aftermarket plastic molder is not going to do it better. (an unbiased opinion from an unbiased overpaid design professional). Although, Koenig does make some very nice wheels.....This poor 328 is almost as tacky as the 512BB with a huge Koenig kit I saws on Ebay last week, I believe it was in NY city somewhere.
Of course it's tacky.... now. Koenig pushed a product that people bought. The 80's were full of dreadful style and even worse taste. People with means wanted something different and more exotic than the exotic. With the rise of Koenig's popularity came others as well. TechArt and Hamann were founded in the glory days of the mid 80's. Don't get me started on Gemballa... They're still at it. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Without the wing I might add. I spoke to Willy Koenig about the 328 setup and even he said that it was to expensive and to mount twin turbos on the Ferrari engine did that the reliability was not great. That is way only 12 or 13 was build. In the Koenig add in the 80´s it said that the 328 should have 455 BHK and that was more than in the Lambo or Ferrari Testarossa in those days. My car as the one in the add on E-bay had also been still for many years. It took me about $ 10 000 and about a year to get my engine and turbo to work as it should. So I guess this one is one step further. Fun to see who is going to take care of this baby. I love my 308 koenig to death.
The seller is saying in the info text "BEFORE I PURCHASED THIS CAR FROM HIM !! THE ENGINE HAD EXCESS BLOW BY AND SMOKE COMING FROM THE EXHAUST, FUEL SMELL WHEN RUNNING AND CYLINDER #1 LOWER COMPRESSION THAN NORMAL, SO IT MAY NEED TO BE REBUILT , NO $ ESTIMATE AVAILABLE, THE ENG. REMAINED UNTOUCHED SINCE MY OWNERSHIP UNTIL NOW" My guess is that the smoke comes from the oil that are supposed to cool the Turbos. That is not extremly expensive, the leek is somewere between the engine, turbo and exsaust system, Probely a liter of oil in the silencer if the smoke is dark and heavy. I would be more worried about the lower compression in cylinder #1. Koenig used special pistons to cope with the extra Power, dont know how hard they are to get today if that is the problem.
I think we agree that apart from the wing, it does not look so bad. But as I said before, without the wing it looks a lot like a GTO. Then some say it's all functional. I would not be surprised if the wing has no positive aerodynamic effect whatsoever and just adds drag. And I would like to know what the Stig lap time would be. If it's fast, then I apologize.
Whenever I see the Gemballa Enzo I just shake my head. To me, it looks like Japanese anime come to life. Everytime I see it I expect some spikey hair, big eyed girl wielding a jewel encrusted sword to come popping out of it... Sorry, its comical. Rick
I would not be surprised if the wing has no positive aerodynamic effect whatsoever and just adds drag. And I would like to know what the Stig lap time would be. If it's fast, then I apologize.[/QUOTE] The car does about 300 km/h ( i dont know what that is in miles) so according to Koenig when turning fast the car needs the wing or else the rear of the car comes lose.
Ooops! Sorry for the misinformation. It incorporated so much of the original 308's design, I was sure that was Pininfarina. Thanks for the correction.
Looking at the Testarossa based Koenig competition, you can see where Pininnfarina got a lot of ideas for the F40 and even the F512M. Say what you will, but I like them for some reason. Probably just from being a child of the 80's with Miami Vice on TV during Jr and Sr HS.
