Text By Chong Jinn Xiung
Names Carry Power. Beautiful. Unique. Funtastic. Original. Romantic. Irresistible. When Gerry Khouri built his first car in 1986, he refused to name it after himself. Instead, he asked people to describe it in one word. Those six words became BUFORI—an acronym that sounded Italian, exotic, and deserving of a place among the world’s most prestigious marques. “The most bespoke car on the planet,” the Lebanese-Australian founder would say when asked about the brand few had heard of. It was a bold claim but one he spent decades proving true, handcrafting ultra-luxury automobiles for billionaires.
In Bufori’s boardroom in Kepong, Khouri spoke with the certainty of someone who had spent four decades proving doubters wrong. At an age when most would be writing memoirs, he remained hands-on—touring the factory floor between interviews, overseeing over 100 Malaysian workers (some trained for more than 30 years) assembling stunning Bufori cars by hand.
The journey from that Sydney garage to Malaysia took a decade. In the late 1990s, the government offered one of only three vehicle manufacturing licences in the country. The Kepong factory opened in 1997, and Khouri spent nearly three decades building something bigger than cars: a generation of Malaysian craftsmen.
THE GARAGE DREAM
Growing up in a conservative Lebanese family in Sydney, Khouri spent his childhood on construction sites rather than football pitches. A natural tinkerer, he found his calling at 14, buying 20-year-old cars, restoring them over weekends, and selling them for a profit. “I would fix the car, restore it beautifully, sell it and make a little money. Then do it again with another car,” he recalled. By 16, with a driving licence in hand and enough savings, he set out to design his own car. “Rather than build a car that’s already built or restore one, I wanted to make a car from scratch.”
“I could pack my bags tomorrow and leave. But I don’t, because the people in this factory keep me here. Without them, I have nothing to produce.” – Gerry Khouri
He built a garage bigger than his house to make it happen. “People thought I was mad. Who do you think you are?” When the first Bufori emerged in 1986, those same voices suddenly wanted to be friends. By 1988, he was exhibiting at international motor shows. Elderly visitors would claim their grandfathers owned Buforis in 1935, which was impossible, since the brand had only just begun. “It just shows how the brand worked from the very first day,” Khouri said.
PASSION OVER PROFIT
“It’s not money that makes these cars,” Khouri said. “It’s passion.” His philosophy: you can either have deep pockets and spend millions hiring the best design houses and yet still fail to produce a working prototype. Or you can pour your soul into your work. “Once you’ve done it, you become the master. Nobody can take it away from you because you didn’t pay somebody to do it.” Bufori’s business model reflects this ethos: no sales team, no marketing, no showrooms. Every client arrived by word of mouth. “These are not rich people,” Khouri clarified. “These are billionaires.”
So, what does the world’s most bespoke car mean? At Bufori, it means turning a client’s wildest visions into reality. One client wanted hot Chinese tea on demand while travelling to meetings. The solution: a USD4,000 teapot made from 18th-century purple clay, housed in a custom compartment with handcrafted caddies for tea leaves, a boiling-water button, and even a rinse sink. Another feature was the constellation ceiling, Starry Night, customised to each owner’s birth constellation.
As the owner spoke or played music, fibre optics pulsed across 46,000 colours, creating a private aurora borealis. “We make more of the car under one roof than anybody else in the world,” Khouri explained. Engines, transmissions, airbags, glass, and some switches were the only items not made in Kepong. Everything else including bodywork, chassis, suspension, leather, paint is handmade.
PEOPLE BEFORE PRODUCT
Bufori’s true secret wasn’t in tea ceremonies or constellation ceilings—it was the people. “I could pack my bags tomorrow and leave,” Khouri said. “But I don’t, because the people in this factory keep me here. Without them, I have nothing to produce.” He hires for attitude, not credentials. Everyone rotates through every department, uncovering hidden talents: mechanics excel in leatherwork, painters in metal fabrication. “You expose them, give them opportunities, and you find hidden talent.”
For three decades, Khouri’s efforts went largely unrecognised locally. That changed at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in 2025, where Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah Wan Ali, CEO of Affin Bank Berhad, championed Bufori’s EViE programme—teaching children engineering through building and racing electric vehicles. “It wasn’t about the money,” Khouri said. “The fact that Datuk Wan went out of his way to show up, well money can’t buy that.” Datuk Wan became a regular visitor, bringing clients and friends to witness Malaysian craftsmanship.
When Bufori launched the CS8, a decade in development and Malaysia’s most powerful production car, Datuk Wan offered Affin Bank’s TRX lobby as the launch venue – a gesture that meant everything. “That was the best thing that ever happened,” Khouri said. “It’s the first time someone actually did something for this company.”
BUILDING THE FUTURE
The EViE programme was just one part of Khouri’s vision for Malaysian talent development. Schools across the Middle East, Europe, Australia, Vietnam, and Singapore participated, with hundreds of applications for limited spots. The next step was bridging the gap between education and employment. Frustrated by the system, Khouri decided to act. He envisions an academy offering five-year apprenticeships: five days hands-on work, one day of classroom theory, with one master per five apprentices. “Work hands-on five days a week, go to school one day. You learn by doing.”
His advice to young entrepreneurs: “Dream big but be honest and believe in yourself. Be confident, not arrogant. Put your heart and soul into it and you will succeed.” May 2026 will mark 40 years since the first Bufori emerged from a garage bigger than the house. Four decades of building cars that turned billionaires into clients through word of mouth alone.
But ask Gerry Khouri what he is proudest of, and it isn’t horsepower or craftsmanship. “These cars are not made by me anymore,” he said. “They’re made by Malaysians. The guys in the factory, that’s what keeps me here.” His legacy is measured not in vehicles produced, but in talent discovered, in 12-year-olds learning engineering through EViE, in apprentices who become masters, passing on the lessons Khouri learned at 14. “When you build something with your own hands, you become the master, and nobody can take that away from you.”
Photography: Weeyang
Art Direction: Amos Yip & Khairani Ramli
