Meyers Manx Returns With An All-Electric Dune Buggy
The off-road legend returns, still rear-wheel-drive, but with a 300-mile electric range.
The VW-based Meyers Manx largely created off-road racing and defined beach-bum living for a solid chunk of the 1960s and '70s. Now, the name is returning with the Meyers Manx 2.0 Electric, a newly unveiled EV dune buggy that looks to carry on the spirit of the original.
Photos by Evan Klein courtesy of Meyers Manx
The EV dune buggy will offer two different drivetrain packages: a 20 kWh, 150-mile range base model, and a 40 kWh, 300-mile range version. The 40 kWh version will be rated at 202 horsepower and 240 pounds-feet of torque, with a 0-60 time estimated at 4.5 seconds. No matter which powertrain buyers opt for, however, power will be delivered the same way the original was: rear-wheel-drive only via a pair of electric motors, one for each wheel. The drive units, inverter, and even the brakes will be self-contained in a single unit, likely to help weatherproof it so it can be used like, well, a dune buggy.
Unlike the original, which was fiberglass, the modern buggy is made out of an aluminum monocoque. The whole package will still only weigh 1,650 pounds in its heaviest form (the VW-based 1960s version was 1,200 pounds), and its wheelbase is only two inches longer than the original, at 82 inches; the styling reflects it because aside from some nicer lights and a much more modernized, LED-emblazoned dash, it looks nearly identical to the original kit cars. As nameplate revivals go, it's about as close to the original as humanly possible.
The modernized Manx is no knock-off project, either. It's made by the company formed with the name sold off by Bruce Manx himself shortly before his death in 2021. Pricing wasn't announced, but pre-orders will begin after the car is officially unveiled at The Quail during Monterey Car Week on August 19. Fifty extremely excited buyers can apply to participate in a beta-testing program and provide feedback to the company on pre-production cars. The buggy is intended to hit the streets in production form sometime in 2024.
