They are able to complete just five cars a year and the wait-list is two years.
Buying the icon of your dreams for a third of the price comes down to visiting a tropical island. It has been nearly two decades since I’ve been to Bali, and a recent article by Hagerty has me looking into flights. Hagerty isn’t known for travel recommendations but their recent youtube video ( below) suggests everyone interested in vintage automotive perfection should head to this tiny Indonesian island, and the small atelier of Tuxedo Studios.
Coming from Denpasar, Bali’s capital, where you will probably fly into, is a quick 30 minute mostly costal drive to the small fishing village of Ketewel, the home of Tuxedo Studios. I had never heard of this small shop until the aforementioned email with that attached video.
100 employees produce cars that none have ever seen in person
Crews build wooden bucks, using digitized factory build sheets. This allows construction of the bodies exactly as the originals were created. Every nut, bolt and screw where it’s supposed to be, build exactly as the factory did. Currently they are producing an Aston Martin DB5, Porsche 550, Toyota 2000, Porsche Speedster and Coupe, a beautiful Porsche 550, and coming soon, the BMW 507. Notably, they utilize the Toyota Crown chassis for the 2000GT, while sourcing powertrains from classic vehicles like the Mercedes W124 for their 300 SL Tuxedo builds these meticulous creations from original factory blueprints gathered over the years, cloning the originals.
Hand formed icons
To create these reproductions of automotive icons, Tuxedo Studio creates unique, hand-formed aluminum bodies over custom tailored frames. They don’t employ a single stock chassis for all their creations. Instead, they painstakingly fabricate the entire structure, encompassing the chassis and body in-house to ensure authenticity and precise fit. They are able to complete just five cars a year and the wait-list is two years. More importantly, they have delivered 20 cars so far, and are unconcerned with terms like “scalable”, instead embracing the word perfection.
It takes about a year to build one car from start to finish, and they make everything in-house, from gauges, wiring looms, steering handles, and brass parts finished in chrome. Painting and upholstery are also done in-house, resulting in a seamless product from start to finish.
It is illegal to import a used car in Indonesia, which makes these cars so desirable to the wealthy in the country, hungering for something fun, something rare and nostalgic. But this also opens doors to enthusiasts from around the world, also eager to own and drive something that is a nearly exact replica of fabulously expensive vehicles often unavailable at less than one million USD.
The studio is currently focusing on cars but, in the near future, will open up a specialist boat unit to bring the principles of modern design to the vintage maritime world of Chris-Craft, Riva, and other highly sought after watercraft.
If your business or personal travel takes you to Thailand, Australia, Japan or Korea, consider a stop in Bali to see this wonderful little shop and meet the owners. The link below takes you to their reservations page.
Tuxedo Studio Visit Reservation
Welcome to Tuksedo Studio! In this visit, you may see our Automobile Recreation process from the very beginning to the finished product. You will be accompanied by our English or Bahasa speaking tour guide who will explain our process and answer your questions.
We’re open from Monday to Friday from 9AM to 6PM