Game Changer: The dune buggy

From the 1950s until 2003, Volkswagen factories across the world combined to build 15 million VW Beetles without ever suspecting that thousands would live on in the guise of a dune buggy.

Best known of these low-cost fun machines was the Meyers Manx (pictured here in red), created by Californian Bruce Meyers.

Meyers, who died in 2021 at the age of 94, was a boatbuilder who in his early 20s would watch early ‘sand racers’ skimming across the dunes near Pismo Beach in southern California.

Those early buggies were little more than hot rods with huge sand tyres for added traction. Power was usually provided by a modified Ford V8 and occupants sat way back in the frame to keep weight on the driving wheels.

Meyers was not the first to base a buggy on the floorpan and mechanical components of a wrecked Volkswagen Beetle, but he made the design viable and inspired an industry that would see around 6000 Manx-style vehicles produced in 100-plus factories in the USA and worldwide.

The Manx body was a simple fibreglass tub; much lighter than a steel-bodied Volkswagen and mounted on a shortened Beetle floorpan. Three prototypes were built initially and let loose on the beaches and dunes of southern California. Once customer orders began to arrive, a production line was established with a capacity of 25 kits per week.

The major problem for Meyers was not finding people to buy his Manx, with its emblem of a sword-wielding tail-less cat. It was stopping other businesses copying his design and building VW-based buggies of their own.

Official Manx agencies were appointed in major markets, but the copycats kept emerging. According to Meyers when interviewed in 2003, he spent more on patent attorneys and legal action than the business was making, so in 1971 he relinquished his role.

That wasn’t before Meyers, with an eye on impending legislation that was likely to ban chassis shortening, teamed with designer Stewart Reed to create the Manx SR – or Street Roadster.

This variation sat on a full VW pan, with proper enclosed bodywork and optional clip-in windows. Still sold as a kit, the SR was a more difficult vehicle to duplicate than the basic Manx but more expensive as well.

Australia with our outdoor lifestyle and endless supply of isolated sandscape was a prime market for buggies and manufacturers who found the Manx easy to copy.

Prominent among the locals was J&S Fibreglass, which as a manufacturer of sports car bodies and aftermarket hardtops had existed since the 1950s. J&S initially built just one traditional design, which it called the Fun Buggy, but would during the 1970s expand the range to include a more sophisticated Trail Buggy with integrated rollover protection.

Not long before his death, Meyers was instrumental in redefining the Manx for enjoyment by future generations by founding a new business, Meyers Manx LLC.

During 2022 it revealed the design for the all-electric Manx 2.0 (pictured here in green), which was said to meet all US safety regulations and weigh 750kg even with a 20kWh battery pack (40kWh was optional) and a 450km range.

In two-seat form, the modernised Manx was the world’s lightest electric passenger vehicle and able to accelerate to 100mph (97km/h) in 4.5 seconds. Pricing wasn’t initially disclosed but the company was accepting $500 deposits for deliveries to begin during 2024.

In mid-2023 it announced the cost of a basic Manx 2.0 would be $US74,000 and confirmed that plans for production were on track.

Images: Evan Klein courtesy of Meyers Manx 2.0