1985

THE BEGINNINGS

It all started in Sydney, Australia. The Khouri family is a hard-working family of entrepreneurs in the construction industry, which built- up a respectable property development corporation.

As the two elder brothers Anthony and George Khouri were already successfully managing the property development corporation, the younger Gerry Khouri was expected to follow his brother’s footsteps. Gerry, a creative and curious man, started his career by becoming a licensed builder and carpenter, but things turned out differently as Gerry followed his passion.

THE CHALLENGE

Gerry was always fascinated with cars and mechanics, a passion which was further fuelled by his brothers’ luxury car collection. Being successful at his trade, Gerry owned many classic roadsters at a young age. He spent his free time restoring oldtimers.

FIRST BUFORI

Gerry started to build his own classic roadster in his garage. For weeks and months, he spent every free minute working on his dream car. Inspired by the 1930’s American classics such as Packard’s & Duesenberg’s, Gerry wanted his car to have similar but unique elegant lines paired with quality craftsmanship, engineering and reliability.
As Gerry spent more and more time in his garage, his friends and family got worried and even discouraged him, thinking his obsession would lead him to jeopardize a brilliant career in property development.
Finally, one year late Gerry presents his first own classic roadster to his brothers. Anthony and George were truly amazed by the beauty of the car and instantly asked Gerry to build one for each of them.

1987

BIRTH OF A BRAND

But what would they name the car? The Khouri brothers asked relatives and friends about their first impression when seeing the car and created an acronym with the 6 best words to describe it:

The Bufori brand was born. And the first Bufori model was named Madison.

B for BEAUTIFUL
U for UNIQUE
F for FUNTASTIC
O for ORIGINAL
R for ROMANTIC
I for IRRESISTIBLE

BUSINESS INCEPTION

Gerry started building his brother’s cars in his garage. As he was driving his Bufori Madison roadster through the streets of Sydney, Gerry attracted a lot of attention and people asked where they could buy or rent such a unique vehicle.
Upon completion of his brothers’ Bufori, someone else would buy the car at an irresistible price, leading Gerry to start building a new Bufori, which in turn was also sold. Realising the demand, the Khouri brothers decided to start a business and created Bufori Motor Car Company Pty Ltd.

FIRST FACTORY

A factory was established in Gladstone Street, Merrylands in Sydney.
Bufori hired talented tradesmen, who handcrafted cars using traditional coachbuilding techniques.
Very soon a distinctive company culture formed around Gerry’s philosophy of building cars, which is still valid to this day.
Gerry’s vision was only to use the best materials and components and the latest technology for Bufori cars. Everything revolved around attention to detail, quality and customisation.
Besides selling cars, Bufori was also very successful at renting their roadsters in Australia.

1992

BUFORI V6i

Bufori builds the Bufori V6i, which featured a more powerful front mounted 3.8Lt V6 engine. In view of its performance, the car was ideal for Motorsport applications.

1994

CANNONALL RUN

BUFORI takes part in the first and last Australian Cannonball Run, a 7,000 km race from the tip of Australia to the centre of the continent and back. The objective of BUFORI’s Motorsport involvement was essentially to test the durability of the car and the materials used under extreme conditions, of which the BUFORI excelled. Of course, it was also about having fun and living the lifestyle.

BUFORI MKII ROADSTER

The Bufori MKII Roadster is conceptualised, designed, developed and manufactured in Sydney, Australia.

1994-1997

MOVE TO MALAYSIA

Bufori Motor Car Company (M) Sdn Bhd was incorporated in Malaysia. In preparation of the transfer of technology, Malaysian tradesmen are trained for several months in Australia.

2003

BUFORI MKIII LA JOYA

The Bufori La Joya prototype is launched at the New York International Motor Show and showcased at the 60th IAA Frankfurt International Motor Show.