A 1983 Ferrari 512 BBi Koenig Coupé Is Heading to Auction This Month

The Ferrari 512 BB might be best known as the predecessor to the iconic Testarossa, but it is not so shabby itself, an underrated V-12 sports car with impeccable 1980s style. Now, a rare version modified by the German tuners Koenig is heading for auction.

The 1983 Ferrari 512 BBi Koenig Coupé was one of around 30 Koenig-tuned Ferrari 512s, according to Bonhams’s listing, and one of five delivered to the United Kingdom new at the time. It is the only one, though, in Rosso Corsa.

Among the modifications performed by Koenig were upgraded camshafts, pistons, and exhaust, which added 110 brake horsepower to the output of the V-12. At the time, the Ferrari 512 BBi was sold new for around $65,000, but Koenig’s upgrades pushed the price closer to $100,000, if not more. The auction listing notes that it was once belonged to a New York stockbroker, part of a stable of several Ferraris that he lent to friends and clients.

A Long Island restaurateur was the next owner, before it was acquired by a dealer in the U.K. in 2015. It has since been sitting in a heated garage for the past decade, though a Ferrari mechanic has said it’s in good shape. Still, the auction listing says that a “thorough mechanical recommissioning” is required before it can be started; the car is said to have 24,000 miles on the odometer.

At the time, the Ferrari 512 BB was going head-to-head with the Lamborghini Countach, which boasted a higher top speed of 192 mph, or four mph faster than the 512 BB’s claimed top speed of 188 mph. Still, Road & Track said at the time that the 512 BB was a better car, and more drivable, a verdict that has held up in the decades since by anyone who has ever sat in the driver’s seat of a Countach.

The Koenig Ferrari has a high estimate of £90,000, or around $120,000, making it among the more affordable cars with Ferrari bones. It will go up for auction on Monday.

Click here for more photos of the Ferrari 512 BBi Koenig.

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