Bufori Workshop – Handmade Classic Cars
24th August 2024
On the 24th of August 2024, we had a visit to The House of Bufori. This was my first motorcar factory visit and I was blown away by the amazing craftsmanship and engineering involved. Organized by MCG Explorer member Zeff Khan. There were 16 of us, made up of 11 Explorer members and our spouses.
The Bufori General Manager Felix Haller was our guide and did a great job explaining and answering all our questions. We also had the privilege of meeting the founder of Bufori, Mr. Jerry Khouri.
We started in the showroom where several classic Bufori cars were on display. Felix spoke on the history and culture of the Bufori name. It was interesting to note that Bufori was a boutique car manufacturer that made handcrafted and fully customized luxury cars to order. Bufori also offers high-end car restoration services, from Concours-level to “resto-mods” or others: engineering services, aircraft interior refurbishments, and interior design of private garages.
After visiting the showroom, we were led to the back end of the assembly floor where the body of the car was fabricated and shaped.
It was fascinating to learn about the tensile strength of the materials used and the entire process involved in shaping and preparing the body of the car.
We managed to take a group photo here before moving on to the Pre-fitting area – the chassis area.
We also learned that it takes close to a year and a half to complete a car.
My favorite part of the tour was the upholstery department (upstairs). We met skilled engineers and craftsmen patiently working on pieces of leather fitted for different parts of the car’s interior.
Bufori uses fully dyed bull hide Italian leather from the best-grade Alpine Bulls for the interior of the cars. The carpeting was from Germany and was fire retardant and did not bleach in the sun. We watched in fascination as two of the staff were putting together a starlight interior roof with the star map of the Aquarius configuration.
We met Mira who was the seamstress at the sewing machine and asked if they had ever created accessories, such as wallets or handbags, to complement the elegant single or two-tone colours of the cars, Mira showed us a bag she had custom-made for a client. Which was exciting as I wouldn’t have minded buying a leather handbag with the Bufori crest on it.
We were then introduced to the Bufori EViE (Electric Vehicle in Education) program, designed for high school students with a passion for engineering. This program allows them to assemble an electric car from a kit. Beyond engineering skills, the program also fosters project management, marketing, charity work, team building, and artistic development.
Our next destination was the Electrical department where the entire circuity of the car was laid out and designed. It made me realize just how complex and sophisticated the process of building a car from scratch truly is.The wires used were from Japan’s Sumitomo as it doesn’t corrode. All the wires were fully insulated to prevent short circuits and fire.
Finally, we got to the other end of the assembly floor where the cars were tested and fine-tuned. We met Gerry Khouri the man who initiated and created the Bufori ideal and he told us that he enjoyed and loved what he did with a passion.
Some of us sat in these beauties and truly appreciated the time and care that went into making each one of these beautiful cars here in Malaysia.
Review written by Santhi Nair-Moine
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