| History of the Dune Buggy |
All information found on this page is from Wikipedia A dune buggy is defined by Wikipedia as recreational vehicles with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes or beaches. The design is usually a modified vehicle with a modified engine mounted on an open chassis. The modifications usually attempt to increase the power to weight ratio by either lightening the vehicle or increasing engine power or both. They are also often referred to as air buggies, and those with an open frame chassis are called sandrails. A typical example of a Sandrail One design of the Dune Buggy involves the alteration of an existing vehicle, most notable the older Volkswagen Type One (Beetle, or Bug). The Beetle was preferred for a variety of reasons. Most notable are the rear mounted engine, which with removal of bodywork transfers a high proportion of the weight to the rear drive wheels for extra traction; the engine is air cooled, simplifying engine modification, and the absence of a radiator, eliminating a source of failure; the low price; robustness of the front suspension; and the sizable quantity of spare parts from other VW Beetles and Type 2 buses. Corvair engines are also a popular upgrade to a 6 cylinders and sometimes turbo with up to 180 horsepower. For example, one such conversion was a 1970 Manx 2 on a 1961 VW chassis. It was fitted with a 180 HP turbocharged Corvair engine, with reverse rotation, mated to a VW transaxle. Fiberglass Dune Buggies Fiberglass dune buggies come in many shapes and sizes. The most popular are those seen on TV like Wonderbug and Speed Buggy. These types of dune buggies are known as "clones". Many companies worldwide have, to varying degrees, attempted to copy the original fiberglass dune buggy the "Meyers Manx" built by Bruce Meyers. Kit cars are a variant that use the dune buggy philosophy of substituting significant amounts of a car with custom parts to resemble production, modified or prototype cars. For instance: American Fiberglass Product’s “Humbug” has similar features to a classic Corvette, Berry’s “Mini-T” was a nod to the Ford Model T, or BMB Automotives “Survivor” is a scaled down version of the Lamborghini Cheetah. The Meyers Manx The Meyers Manx dune buggy was designed and built by Californian Bruce Meyers 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 themselves. 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 Mexican 1000 race, the predcessor of the Baja 1000 and beat motorcycles, cars and trucks doing so. Manx type cars appear in several movies with stars such as Elvis Presley. One of the more memorable appearances is in original version of the The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen. In the movie there is a lengthy beach driving scene where a heavily modified Meyers 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 (estimated at a quarter of a million worldwide) were made by other companies. Meyers tried to stop the copies, by suing under the patent process but failed due to the patent not being upheld by the court. Since then countless buggies have been produced and are still being made today. Many people recognize this body-type simply known as the "Dune Buggy" or "Beach Buggy". Since 2002, Meyers Manx have introduced new models, the Manxter 2+2 and Manxter Dual Sport being two. These new models are true to the original design but are sized for a full-length Beetle floorpanpan. Custom versions for higher horsepower engines and other variations are also available. |
| A UK built Meyers Manx buggy, shown here in April 2007 |
| A Meyers Manx dune buggy, shown here at a VW car show in Brisbane, QLD, Australia. |
| The Greek beach buggy was built by Pan-Car in the 1980's |
| The Dune Buggy Club for Dune Buggy Lovers! |
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