Bufori is a company based in Malaysia and so far they’ve been making hand crafted cars inspired by old classic 1930s designs, kinda like what Mitsuoka, except Mitsuoka modifies Nissan cars. They were founded in 1986 and was initially based in Australia but they relocated to Malaysia in the mid 90s.
This is Bufori’s latest project, the Bufori CS, which stands for Compact Sports. It’s very different from the regular 1930s cars that you get. It’s meant to be a sports 2 door coupe, powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged inline-4 engine at the front. I’m very curious where this engine is sourced from and I believe I will get more answers on the technical details of the car at a test session that I’m going to at 3pm later today.
The Bufori CS is built on a space frame chassis wrapped with a monocoque body made of reinforced Carbon Fiber and Kevlar. The suspension design uses unequal upper and lower arm for the front and rear and fully adjustable coil-over shocks. It will be launched in the first half of 2010 and more details will be unveiled before the end of 2009.
But here’s the most interesting part – a race version of the Bufori CS will be entered in the 56th Macau Grand Prix this month. The race car is called the Bufori BMS R1 and will be entered by the new BMS AXLE RACING team, a JV between Bufori Motorsports and Axle Motorsport. Axle is a familiar name – Alex Yoong is the man behind it. The race car was developed in under 10 weeks and complies with FIA GT3 specs.
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1st
hmm…for some reasons the angular A-pillars look out of place on this car…
speed racer!
nice…..
half-crafted??what's that supposed to mean?was it supposed to be hand-crafted instead??
Still retaining the same concept of their 1930 style car and you can said it is rather spectacular. Can't wait to see their result and hopefully equal or better than what Proton have achieved recently.
Hmm.. lots of questions. Where's the real car? I get that it wasn't there at the launch. What is the company like? Will they be around after 6 months? Is the 2.0-litre turbo'd lump sourced from the Subaru Impreza? If so, that's great.
But is the car welded together well? Where is it built? Who are the people behind the design, engineering and build of the car?
What is the car's direct competition? Is it going after Lotus? Does it have Lotus's input? What platform is it based on? It looks like the size of roughly the Lotus Exige..
Let's see whether the car makes it to Macau in one piece
Wiki says this is based in Kepong.
Good luck to small auto company. Hopefully Top Gear reviews the cars.
On another note, I am waiting your review on the BMW Efficient Dynamics 1k KM trip you had Paul. Autoworld already has their report.
Rudeboi said,
November 15, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
What is the company like? Will they be around after 6 months?
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OMG!!! Waddaheck is wrong with you man?! Bufori is founded at Australia by Gerry Khouri in 1986 and then shifted to Malaysia by request from YM Tun Dr. Mahathir in the mid 90's. They have been in Malaysia for more than a decade now la…if I'm not mistaken, their factory is at Kepong. Their latest (soon be launching) is the LaJoya aka Jewel is their 5th model bro.
One more thing…I sure hope u r not a Malaysian…if yes…what a pity…
aiyoo rudeboi,
u never heard bufori before aa? u think proton the only made in malaysia car aa? pity pity.
Epol and torque – do you need to feel that you are telling me something I don't already know? ok – let me clarify my point for you small minded pair.
I know Bufori's background but its been a while since they produced a new car. That's why I ask la dey.
Don't get personal about my post. You cretins have a nice day.
race version looks like the old porsche martini sumthin2 car awhile back, also used in old transformer cartoon,
It looks like a brit small volume car, at least there's innovation goin on there
the front is wayy too messy though…
Bufori haz been around since the first kl motorshow… izzit 10 years or more… long time ady
pricelist is always there in autocar asean magazine
i guess it will be rwd which is good news for those who are driving enthusiasts. i just hope that they have a 1.6 and a 2.0. the 1.6 are for those who are on a budget but still want a fine handling sporting car (notice i did not say sports car). the days of the affordable escort sport and the ae86 should come back and i think that bufori has the best chance to fill in the void of an affordable sporting sports coupe.
please build it… but make it affordable. perhaps it could be priced below rm100k for the entry model and that should get their order books full for months!
rude-boy, get a life! u should feel ashame of urself, typical negative Malaysian @ proton basher.
I have good wishes for Bufori. Being built here, I support our only attempt at rivalling the best handcrafted retrocars from Europe. Having a factory in an address like Kepong may not sound convincing when you think of luxurious things but if it works for them, great.
Having said that, a company that aspire to produce only the best quality and posh products should have appointed a better graphic artist when it comes to revealing their newest design. As seen above, it is badly done that it looks amateurish.
Unlike the Europeans, our version of a well-made and built retro design luxury car isn't up to mark. But I hope the new car changes that. And maybe Top Gear and Fifth Gear guys will be kind when they want to review the car.
Rudeboi, Bufori is another rather peculiar, interesting and understated company. Owners are Lebanese Austarlians who now have settled in Malaysia. For some reason the Khouri family prefers to keep this company out of the radar but they're still around churning out cars. They're still producing the La Joya which is built to order only. Their orders are both domestic and overseas.
The interesting bit is this company builds everything in house in Kepong. Only the engines are imported. They should technically enjoy the national car status as they are truly a Malaysian product.
Another interesting bit is there are very few local companies that use composites to make their cars. They use carbon kevlar layers reinforced in fiberglass for their body shells.
Their cars are not copies of old models and are all designed in house in kepong and they use the very finest interior material (german leather, 24k gold bezel etc) in their cars. Very unique company. They're not getting the credit they deserve but they don't seem to mind as they're just more than happy focus on building cars for their customers. If you're sick with malaysian built car quality issues this company is a refreshing change.
Besides this new CS model they've got another large high end model (modern styled) ready for launching. Very exquisite.
They've been around in Malaysia for many years, are running as usual and are expanding their line up. They are a small volume manufacturer, they don't like hype and so we only hear about them once in a blue moon.
These guys are Malaysia's hidden treasure. They've been featured on Discovery channel.
lolz,a Bufori is a high-end luxury hand-crafted coupe.Those cars are a dream.The La Joya..walao!!nice wei!!..if i'm not mistaken,a Bufori will cost about half a milllion ringgit,rite??or was it more than that??and that's the basic model without customization.man,like Ferruccio said,they're Malaysia's hidden treasure.I highly respect the company.I wish I can work with them one day.
we hope theophilus chin can help to correct the drawing, it looks a bit akward to me.
TD2000……dont forget bout them also
hehe
BMS AXLE RACING is the collaboration between BMS, Bufori’s Motor Sport division, and AXLE MOTORSPORT, a company dealing in high technology motor racing development.
After being approached by luxury car manufacturer Bufori to develop a GT3 version of their Bufori CS, Alex Yoong, founder of AXLE MOTORSPORT, put together a team of personnel consisting of local and Formula 1 engineers and mechanics to work on and develop the GT3 project.
“Using the experience and knowledge of the Formula 1 personnel, the teams intention was to help transfer the technology to the local manufacturer in aid of helping them develop new methods and technology.” said Alex
“In my years of being a part of motorsport, from regional series all the way to Formula 1, I’ve always wanted to help grow the industry here in Malaysia as well as Asia. This project was a great catalysts to do so as it extends from what we were doing with the Malaysian A1GP Team, taking it a step further from running a race team at an international level to building the actual race car from ground up.” he added.
The projects Technical Director, Dr John P. Davis commented, “This project has been an interesting challenge as we were not only battling timelines, but also having to choose a level of technology that suited the available budget and resources available. There is a lot of growth potential in this region, it is just a matter of having the right people together with the necessary training. There needs to be more projects like this in order to raise the skill level required to support the industry all the way to Formula 1.”
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ALEX YOONG and BUFORI guys said this is Formula One (F1) tech knowledge transfer to Malaysia commercial car!
i wonder what engine will be use, a LOTUS engine?? because Alex Yoong Axle Motorsports company really have good relationship with PROTON and AirAsia
The design looks like a ripoff from Bristol, the British sports car maker with heritage in plane making.
Their cars are hideous, and hand crafted != good. It usually means unreliable and rough. I have seen a Bufori at a car show, and admittedly for the price it wasn't that bad, but really who would want to drive this, other than some patriotic Malaysians.
Bufori don't make mainstream cars. They make low volume built to order cars for collectors who appreciate them and so it is irrelevant whether you or I like their cars or not and pass baseless judgement or not. It doesn't matter to them. They have a following and a significant number of their orders are for export to offshore customers worldwide anyway.
They use engines supplied by known manufacturers around the world. LOTUS do not produce their own engines btw.
Whether Bufori cars are unreliable or rough is something that only an owner can tell you. Otherwise you're unfairly generalizing. These guys are not a 'fly by night' operation and they have a respectable customer base.
I don't think detractors or blind nay-sayers have any idea what the FIA GT3 group consist of; 997s, F430s, Gallardos and the ever potent and personal fav 'Vette Z06. Those are massive power to weight ratios. We are talking above 500bhp, above 400Nm torque. There are no jap engines on this list. So yes it will blow your mind. If the FIA sanctions it for GT3, it means its bloody good. These are cars for enthusiast. No commuters. So please, get off that pedestal. Its embarrassing. Subaru 4 pots indeed!!!
FYI, their low profile status is itentional
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFswbdPccmQ
bro, attended the same briefing session as you in kepong. one of the guy said it was a highly modified evo engine sourced from UK. a lot of the major component changed to make it their own engine.
bufori is for enthusiast and collectors. If you' not in the category then you will not know the company exist. This car is not for mainstream or commuter kind of category who is snapping up P2/P1 cars and envying City/Vios. This is a 2nd car next to a Lexus/SLK/Porches/Rolls/Jag.
The car is of high quality and exquisite finishing. For ppl in the category they are willing to pay 1/2 million ringgit upwards for this car. The price you pay to say what should be in the car and what should not.
Anyway most of the models will not be suited for Malaysian weather, thats why most are exported.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufori
hmm…somehow the rear slope of the car looks familiar to GTR35 styling especially from side view
If it's built to FIA GT3 spec, possibly the engine would at least churns out close to 400 bhp. Even the current least powerful FIA GT3 car is the Porsche 997 RS which has got 440+bhp on tap. Anything less than that, meant that the Bufori must be the lightest car of the bunch, or more suitable for the lower spec FIA GT4 class!!
If i not mistaken, TD2000 Builded BY THEM ????
This car is miles and miles better than any Proton, especially the stupid aging Perdana.
This car is miles and miles better than any Perodua, this car should be the national car, not stupid P1 or P2.
No they had nothing to do with TD2000. Go visit bufori.com where they dispel this rumour
Since we're off to comparing this low volume, built to order, hand built custom car to Proton & Perodua we might as well boast how much better Bentleys and Rolls Royces are to Proton & Perodua
Thanks Ferruccio, bodbuilder and hack3line for the explanation. The rest of you guys making stupid remarks are idiots. Who the hell is this racist bastard?
Thanks Alex Yoong for making an effort.
Dear Rudeboi,
Good for ya mate if u actually know who/what Bufori is but next time pls posted a comment or question that is far clearer, orait mate? I just QUOTED what you typed which definately could mislead anyone that read it…cheers to u too cretin!
p/s: Offended ppl I may have but throwing the first stone in calling names…I never were!!
Thanks Master torque-yoda
Hmmm…
Mistype could lead to misread…misread could lead to miscommunication…miscommunication could lead to misargument…misargument could lead to anger…anger could lead to the dark side…the dark side will destroy this site…
hmmm….
The front look very much similar to TVR Cerbera !!