Just too late for Bruce Meyers
The Meyers Manx has been the Volkswagen Beetle-based buggy for decades. Now there is a brand new one, which, in addition to its electric powertrain, is completely up to date on even more fronts.
When you think of a buggy, you think of a thing that a child can sit in or of a Beetle-based off-road car. The latter is the legacy of Bruce Meyers, who died last year. In the 1960s he created the Meyers Manx, an adventurous off-road vehicle with the (shortened) chassis and the engine of the Volkswagen Beetle. He gave the Manx a characteristic body, a kind of bathtub made of fiberglass. The concept caught on and Meyers sold thousands of copies until the early 1970s. The Manx was a true trendsetter, as many other companies would later offer similar cars or conversion kits.
Meyers withdrew from the industry in the early 1970s, but in 2000 the now 74-year-old was back with his company Meyers Manx. New incarnations of the Manx appeared, some closer to the 60s original than the other. Meyers decided at the end of 2020 that it was time to sell his company again and now the acquired Meyers Manx comes with its most special creation yet: an all-new Manx with an electric powertrain.
The Meyers Manx 2.0 called offroader still looks exactly like the original, but various details betray that it is a newer thing. Especially at the rear, where completely newly drawn retro LED taillights adorn. More retro elements? Yes, the wheels are clearly inspired by those of the Volkswagen Beetle and inside the aluminum body of the Manx 2.0 is a nod to the Beetle not to be missed. For example, the round instruments are reminiscent of that of the Beetle and there is the nice classic-looking seat cover. Do you think it’s a successful picture? Then you can thank none other than designer Freeman Thomas. He knows what he’s doing, because Thomas also put the design of the New Beetle on paper. So the circle is complete again.
Although a link to (classic) Volkswagens is certainly still present, we see nothing of it in the technology. No air-cooled boxer engine in the back, but two electric motors per rear wheel. Bee InsideEVs we read about a version with a 20 kWh battery and one with a battery with a 40 kWh capacity. The Meyers Manx 2.0 with the largest battery pack is 202 American horsepower and 325 Nm strong and should be able to cover 482 km with a full battery. The one with the 20 kWh battery pack will travel 241 km. So exactly half. Charging is possible with 6 kW or optionally with a 60 kW DC charger. It is not yet known what the Meyers Manx 2.0 will cost, but the first limited production will start next year.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl