Bufori is back
It has Persian silk carpets, a walnut dashboard polished in France, 24K gold plated instruments and an optional solid gold hood emblem.
Meet the Bufori Mk III La Joya, a retro car with a modern chassis and powertrain that will be unveiled at this year's Australian International Motor Show.
Bufori, which will showcase Malaysian-made vehicles at the Sydney show in October, began life on Sydney's Parramatta Street more than two decades ago.
At the time, the Bufori Mk1 was simply a retro-designed two-seat roadster, hand-built by brothers Anthony, George and Jerry Khoury.
“The design and build quality of these vehicles is amazing,” says Cameron Pollard, marketing manager for Bufori Australia.
"We believe they stand up to the best brands in the world."
La Joya is powered by a 2.7kW 172-litre V6 quad-cam engine mounted in the middle just ahead of the rear axle.
The body is made of lightweight carbon fiber and Kevlar.
Front and rear suspension are race-style double wishbones with adjustable dampers.
A number of modern safety features also belie the La Joya's old world look, including anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution (EBD), a driver's airbag, seat belt pretensioners and a tire pressure monitoring system.
La Joya means "Jewel" in Spanish, and Bufori gives customers the option to install their chosen gems anywhere in the car.
“This car will appeal to discerning people and we are sure there is a market for it in Australia,” says Pollard.
Bufori moved production of its vehicles to Malaysia in 1998 at the invitation of some car enthusiasts from the Malaysian royal family.
The company now employs 150 people at its Kuala Lumpur plant and exports handcrafted Buforis products worldwide, including the US, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and now Australia.
“We sell cars all over the world, but we are still Australian owned and still consider ourselves Australian at heart.
“We are very pleased to now be able to offer a limited number of these vehicles in the Australian market,” says Pollard.
