► Meyers Manx 2.0 EV is here
► Electric version of classic dune buggy
► Priced from – well, you’d better be sitting down
If the electric Mini Moke whet your appetite, but just wasn’t beach buggy enough for you, good news: the all-new Meyers Manx 2.0 EV is making its UK and Europe debut at the 2024 Goodwood Revival. The original dune buggy is getting an all-electric upgrade in time to celebrate its 60th anniversary, and the pre-production version will be on display, fresh from a similar outing at the 2024 Monterey Car Week.
Finished in a homage to the original Meyers Manx ‘Old Red’ of 1964 – red paint, white Bimini roof, plus green stripe as a nod to Old Red’s green accessories – it certainly looks the part. But despite appearances, the firm says the Meyers Manx 2.0 is its first totally new vehicle in over 50 years, describing it as ‘a paradigm of performance with style to match.’
What sort of performance?
That’s a good question. The classic VW Beetle based design has clearly been given a thorough going-over here – in fact, the company’s website boasts of how modern 3D scanning techniques have made it possible to improve the regular combustion versions, which you can still buy, and even build yourself – but actual technical details are pretty scarce. We have asked, and are promised official specifications ‘in the next three weeks’.
While we wait, we can report a driving range figure of 125 miles is being touted, while the use of a ‘sealed’ electric drivetrain is expected to improve reliability. With a specific reference to the end of busted oil pans during off-road excursions.
The power, performance, battery capacity and – critically – weight are all a bit of a mystery at the moment, though an appearance in the Forza Horizon 5 video game (yes, really – and why not?) suggests a planned 200bhp and 240lb ft, and a target weight of 748kg.
Off-road excursions…?
This dinky dune buggy might look a little comical by 2024 standards, but it originated with serious off-road intent and has quite the pedigree behind it. Starting in 1964, Bruce Meyers used boat-building techniques to combine a shortened Beetle chassis with a fibreglass form, and the result immediately began to break dune and desert racing records.
Road-legal versions followed, but the original B F Meyers & Co firm went under in 1971 – despite a number of celebrity fans, including Steve McQueen and, uh-huhuh, Elvis Presley. The current incarnation, Meyers Manx, Inc, resurrected the original vehicles in 2000, and has now moved on to this 2.0 version with EV power.
A prototype of this has recently been tested at Baja, maintaining those off-road links.
What if I don’t want an electric one?
You can still get a petrol-powered Meyers Manx. And if you’re really into it, there’s even a limited edition available right now with a wacky three-cylinder radial engine in the back.
Called the Meyers Manx Tarmac Touring Edition, instead of an air-cooled Beetle or Porsche motor, this uses a 2.0-litre triple from Radial Motion. Australians. Clearly nutters. Originally intended for aviation, despite appearances it uses components from the ubiquitous LS1 V8, and comes in a variety of specifications dependent on the depth of your wallet.
No word on exactly how much go the Tarmac Touring Edition possesses, but Meyers Manx does wryly note it ‘delivers over double the power of a classic Volkswagen engine’ – and we bet it sounds pretty, ah, rad while doing it.
No kidding about the limited nature either. Just six Tarmac Touring models will be produced by Meyers Manx, though the Radial Motion 3 is supposedly available as an option for other classic buggy builds as well.
You’ll need to really want one, however, as the price for the limited edition is $119,500 (around £91,000 right now) and securing an order requires a non-refundable $23,900 (£18k) deposit.
So how much is the electric Meyers Manx, then?
Going back to the EV, that’s also a little eyewatering. Although the deposit drops to just $1000 (£760) you’ll eventually need to stump up at least $125,000 in total – that’s £95,000.
It’s cool, almost certainly groovy and no doubt fun, fun, fun until daddy takes the charging cable away. But it also makes the £35,995 Moke Electric look like a bargain. Which is an achievement in itself.
The 2024 Goodwood Revival includes a rolling display of Meyers Manx vehicles at the start of the opening parade lap each day, including the new 2.0 EV.
A new four-seater model called the Meyers Manx Resorter NEV – that’s Neighbourhood Electric Vehicle – is also planned, but this seems to be more of an upmarket club car than anything else, as maximum speed is limited to 25mph…