cars

Meyers Manx

USA · Founded 1964

Heritage

Bruce Meyers was a boat builder and surfer in Newport Beach, California, who looked at the Volkswagen Beetle and saw something nobody else did: a donor platform for the ultimate beach car. In 1964, he built the first Manx — a fiberglass body that bolted onto a shortened VW pan. The design was so simple and so right that it spawned an entire industry of imitators. Over 250,000 Manx-style dune buggies were built by copycat manufacturers, while Meyers himself only produced around 6,000. The original is recognizable instantly: those humped fenders, that minimal windshield, that 'why didn't I think of that' simplicity. Bruce Meyers didn't just build a car — he created the template for every fiberglass kit car that followed.

Meyers Manx Vehicles (1)

1966 Meyers Manx

1966 Meyers Manx

$25,000-75,000+ (original Manx); $5,000-15,000 (clones) Car
Engine: VW flat-four (1200cc-1600cc, varied by donor)
Power: 40-60 hp (stock); 100+ hp (modified)
Trans: 4-speed manual (VW)
Years: 1964-1971

The Meyers Manx answered a question nobody was asking: what if a car was designed purely for fun? Bruce Meyers, a boat builder from Newport Beach, shortened a VW Beetle pan by 14 inches, dropped a fiberglass shell on top, and created the dune buggy. The original Old Red won the 1967 Mexican 1000 (precursor to the Baja 1000), beating motorcycles and purpose-built off-road vehicles. That race result proved the concept wasn't just a beach toy — it was legitimately capable. The design was so simple and effective that knockoff manufacturers produced over 250,000 copies. Meyers sued, lost (the court ruled the design was too simple to protect), and watched others profit from his creation. The Manx is the Patient Zero of the kit car industry.