Electric car Meyers Manx 2.0 Electric: Retro buggy enters serial production

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Three years ago, Volkswagen made its grand entrance at the Geneva Motor Show and then at Pebble Beach. The VW ID.Buggy was supposed to show how variable Volkswagen's modular electric construction kit could be. However, after its grand appearance, the plans for the green electric buggy disappeared into a drawer.

Good for the Meyers Manx 2.0 EV, which made its grand entrance two weeks ago in Malibu and then in Pebble Beach. Its design is much more closely based on the historical models than the Volkswagen buggy study: large rear wheels, rear-wheel drive and very open at the top. "We're in the final testing phase right now," explains company CEO Freeman Thomas, "the first prototypes should hit the road in the first quarter of 2023." Meyers Manx is the original fibreglass dune buggy kit car company founded by Bruce Meyers and now owned by Phillip Sarofim's Trousdale Ventures.

The scene in the Hollywood film "The Thomas Crown Affair" is almost as legendary as the 1968 classic itself. The millionaire bon vivant Thomas Crown alias Steve McQueen gets the Meyers Manx Buggy one of the leading roles in the film with a car chase on the beach. About 30 years later, the film got a remake with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo that was barely worse. However, the cool Meyers Manx Buggy with the six-cylinder boxer from the Chevrolet Corvair in the rear was only seen in the original film from the late 1960s. The beach bouncer was a toy of the rich and beautiful.

Meyer had thought about democratisation

Company founder Bruce Meyers, full-blooded surfer, board producer and boat builder, had imagined things differently. He wanted to convert the boring VW Beetles into cool fun vehicles for everyone - in the wild late sixties, an alternative to powerful US limousines and the VW T1 surfmobile. To do this, Meyers took the floor assembly of an American VW Beetle, shortened it by almost 40 centimetres and put a plastic body on top.

Wide tyres to prevent sinking into the sand

The beach buggy thus became more manageable, lighter and, thanks to the wide tyres, a perfect leisure vehicle for the beach. It didn't take long for the tired Beetle engines in the rear to gain strength with different carburettors and larger displacements. Some customers even exchanged the four-cylinder boxers in the rear for Porsche engines from the 911 or Chevrolet Corvair with six cylinders.

Meyers slipped out of control

Bruce Meyers himself produced more than 5000 beach buggies over the years in the Californian town of Fountain Valley / Orange County. Although he had patented the design on the Beetle chassis, he could not even prevent copies in court. After the defeated lawsuit, colourful beach buggy replicas sprouted all over the world. In Asia, South America, Europe and the USA, between 200,000 and 250,000  vehicles were supposedly built. In Europe, most of them came from Apal or Karmann.

Fortunately without any comfort

The interior of the stationary buggies remained spartan in accordance with their purpose as fun makers for weekends and sunshine. Two bucket seats, a small sports steering wheel, a sparse dashboard with barely more information than a speedometer and fuel gauge. Add to that switches for lights and indicators as well as a roll bar, three pedals and a gear stick - and the toy car is finished. Some had windscreen wipers, others additional headlights in frog look or even a bikini top to protect against too much sun or rain - but none of the beach hoppers from Meyers was comfortable.

Beta testers wanted

Currently, Meyers Manx is very publicly seeking 50 interested beta testers to put the electric prototypes of the successor through their paces from the customer's point of view. They are to drive the Manx buggies over a period of twelve months under all possible conditions and with a predetermined minimum number of kilometres. They are to regularly share their experiences with the Meyers Manx development team.

150 kW and under 800 kg

The new Manx buggy is powered by an electric motor on the rear axle, which is supposed to produce 150 kW. The customer can choose between two battery packs with 20 and 40 kWh, which should guarantee ranges of 250 and 500 kilometres. The unloaded weight of the new edition of the Manx is supposed to be less than 800 kilograms. Philip Sarofim recalls how Meyers once set speed and time records in Baja California with his prototype buggy "Old Red" for pure testing purposes.

First Meyers Manx in almost 60 years

There have been a number of attempts to revive the Meyers Manx in the USA. Most recently, Volkswagen made buggy fans dream. But now the Manx 2.0 Electric is the first all-new Meyers Manx vehicle in almost 60 years. In addition to applicants for the beta programme, Meyers Manx is now taking orders for the production Manx 2.0 Electric, which is scheduled for delivery in 2024. The deposit is 500 US dollars, the price is not yet known.

(fpi)