Bufori Mk III La Joya

Bufori, which will launch its Malaysian-manufactured cars at the Sydney Show in October, started life on Sydney's Parramatta Road over two decades ago. Back then, the Bufori Mk1 was a retro-styled two-seat roadster hand built by brothers Anthony, George and Gerry Khouri. "The quality of the engineering and construction on these cars is simply amazing. We believe they stand comparison with the finest marques in the world," said Bufori Australia's marketing manager, Cameron Pollard. The La Joya is powered by a bespoke 2.7-litre quad cam 172kW V6 engine which, surprisingly, given the car's classic proportions, is mid-mounted just ahead of the rear axle. Looking at the image above would suggest it's a tight fit, but the Bufori engineers have made it work. Aided by bodywork made of lightweight carbon fibre and kevlar, the engine can propel the La Joya from 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds.

The front and rear suspension is race-style double wishbones with adjustable dampers. Contemporary safety features also belie the old world looks, including anti-lock brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, driver's airbag, seatbelt pre tensioners, and a tyre pressure monitoring system. The cabin is fully insulated for heat and sound and contains luxuries like 100 percent Persian Silk carpets, French polished walnut dash, 24k gold plated instrumentation and an optional 24k solid gold bonnet emblem - very bling! La Joya is Spanish for "The Jewel". In keeping with this theme, Bufori will offer buyers the option of mounting their choice of precious gemstones anywhere on the vehicle. "This is a car that will appeal to discerning individuals and we are confident that there is a market for it in Australia," Mr Pollard said. Bufori moved production of its cars to Malaysia in 1998 at the invitation of members of the Malaysian royal family.

The company now employs 150 people at its factory in Kuala Lumpur and exports the hand crafted Bufori's around the world, including the US, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and now back 'home' to Australia. "We've been selling cars all over the world but we are still Australian owned and consider ourselves Aussie at heart. We're thrilled to make a select number of vehicles available to the Australian market," Pollard said.