IT MAY look like the real thing and move like the real thing - but these cars aren't really what they seem.

The Ferrari or Lamborghini you see along Bangkok roads may just be a locally-made replica. The man responsible for their presence is 44-year-old Thai carmaker Chris Pongpitaya.

He said he has no shortage of orders from home and abroad for cars which are clones of expensive sports cars such as Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and Aston Martins. Their prices start from only 400,000 baht ($17,000), reported Bangkok Post.

Other than cars, Mr Pongpitaya's company, Schones (German for beautiful), also modifies original vehicles, produces jet skis, boats, planes and furniture he designs himself.

He said he gained the expertise from 14 years spent in Germany at the Porsche Design Studio, where he worked on interior designs for planes. He also spent about three years with Brabus, the high-performance after-market tuning company specialising mainly in Mercedes Benz.

He told the newspaper: "I started my business in 1998, at first only installing accessories in Ferraris and other expensive sports cars. Later on, I started to reproduce the cars and moved on to other items."

Doesn't he worry about copyright infringement?

He said: "If you put a logo on a car, this could be a problem. I can do so with cars like Ferraris that are already out of production, like the F40 or the Testarossa. It is not the same as when someone copies 1,000 Moschino bags. I am making only a few pieces.

"We can find the logos or stickers for all car brands on the web, or I can make logos from fibreglass or other materials. Logos can be also bought from many shops in Thailand."

He takes about eight to 12 weeks to build a car like a Ferrari F40. Popular makes are the Ferraris - the F40, F50 and F512 TR models - followed by Lamborghinis and every Porsche model.

Aston Martins are also popular.

Most know of him through word-of-mouth as he does not advertise.

He added: "Sometimes I try to hide because I am known as a master copier."

He said of his replicas: "It looks like the original and it is cheap. My customers are people who have a dream to own an expensive sports car at an affordable price, and this is exactly what I can provide for them.

"If someone wants me to make a car, a Ferrari for example, after they tell me the model, I will do research and find the information by using many resources. I can make or modify any product at the customer's request. It is up to the customer as to what type of engine, brakes, mag wheels, tyres, interior, etc, they want."

Though business is good, Mr Pongpitaya said he is not doing it for the money, but for the challenge.

His dream, he said, is to produce a Thai branded car.

He said he has produced copies of luxury cars for Hollywood, Hong Kong and Thai movie productions.

He said: "These are crashed or blown up. They look all right from the outside, but inside they have a small engine, just enough to drive around. They have no power."

This article was first published in The New Paper.