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Meyers Manx
The Meyers Manx is a dune buggy that was designed and produced by Bruce Meyers' Meyers Company in Fountain Valley, California, USA, between 1963 and 1971. It debuted in 1964.
The car featured a fiberglass body coupled with Volkswagen Beetle frame and engine. It is a tiny car, with a wheelbase 14 1/4 inches shorter than a Beetle so the frame has to be cut short and welded. It is so small and light that a person of average strength can lift up the front end of the car by his/herself. For this reason, the car is capable of very quick acceleration and good off-road performance.
The Meyers Manx achieved widespread recognition when it won the inaugural Baja 1000 and beat a motorcycle while doing it.
Manxs appear in several movies with stars such as Elvis Presley. One of the more memorable appearances is in original version of The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen. In the movie there is a lengthy beach driving scene where a heavily modified Manx equipped with a Chevrolet Corvair engine is launched over several dunes.
Approximately 5,000 of the original Meyers Manx dune buggies were produced, but when the design became popular many look-alikes were made by other companies. Meyers tried to stop the copies but failed to get a patent on his design. Since then countless buggies have been produced and are still being made today. A "full wheelbase Beetle" Buggy kit is still being produced and sold by the Meyers company. Many people recognize the body-type simply known as the "Beach Buggy".
Meyers has recently introduced two new models, the Manxter 2+2 and Manxter DualSport. These new models are true to the original design by being sized for a Beetle pan. However, custom orders for higher horsepower engines and other customizations are available. Presently, production and design of new models takes place in Valley Center, California.
Mayers Manx in Movies/Fiction
- In The Thomas Crown Affair, Steve McQueen's character drives a Meyers Manx along the beach.
- In the 19-2000 Music Video by the Gorillaz. The band drives around in a Meyers Manx Dune Buggy
- For a brief time in the mid-1970s, Spider-Man used a modified Meyers Manx dune buggy as his "Spider-Mobile".
- The 1973 cartoon series Speed Buggy featured an anthopomorphic Meyers Manx dune buggy, voiced by Mel Blanc.
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