A horror-movie poster car

In the 1980s and 1990s, barely a single model of supercar escaped the clutches of Koenig, the Munich-based tuning house that used the Frankenstein method of bringing a car to life. One victim was the Ferrari 348 which, in this instance, had a pair of turbos bolted onto its 3.4-litre V8, surely pushing the limits of day-to-day driveability. Believe it or not, the aesthetic intervention was even more dramatic: the rear end was transformed into something resembling an F40, and the other panels were given an air vent. Or three. Needless to say, the interior didn’t escape untouched, either.

Despite that, there’s a reason why these tuning specials haven’t all been stripped down, or burnt to the ground. Like all fads, they’ve gone full circle and are now considered ‘cool’, provided you can manage monumental turbo lag while adopting a healthy sense of self-irony. As fashionistas will tell you, that’s the kind of bravado that kick-starts new trends – and if the rising interest in classic Koenigs, Gemballas and Brabuses is anything to go by, you won’t be the only pioneer.

Photos: Alexanders Prestige