Jumping Dunes & Crunching Sand

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It’s hard to look at the Meyers Manx and not smile. Something about the dune buggy reaches back into childhood and brings ruminations of Scooby Doo, Speed Buggy, The Love Bug, and even Speed Racer. The Meyers Manx, called Manx after the Manx cat’s stubby tail, was originally designed by engineer, artist, boat builder, and California surfer Bruce F Meyer in a cramped shed in Newport Beach, CA, in 1964. When the little dune buggy broke the timed record for a run from Tijuana, Mexico, to La Paz over rocky desert terrain, Manx was crowned victor, and the first-ever Baja 1000 was born. The desire to own a Meyers Manx grew faster than the kits could be produced, and as with most start-ups, the cost of producing a kit was more than the retail sales price.

Although the company folded in 1971, Bruce brought it back in 1999 and, by 2014, in true visionary style, produced an electric prototype. In 2020 the company was again brought back to the forefront as “Meyers Manx, LLC” with a fully electric version of the original Manx. The new dune buggy isn’t a kit anymore but will come fully assembled with a retro design aesthetic.

On February 19, 2021, at the age of 94, Bruce passed away. It is men like this whose vision and inspiration live on through their creative genius. If you go on their website, you can view all the amazing new directions they are going with the Meyers Manx. For me, I like to think back to that one season cartoon show where that bright orange dune buggy talked in the voice of Mel Blanc and solved mysteries with the kids that looked a lot like Shaggy, Daphne, and a brunette Fred.

Sitting at Cocomats on the shipping desk are 5 Meyers Manx Hot Wheels pristine in their boxes. Each one is bright and cheery, just waiting to be opened and played with. After all, they were made for jumping dunes and crunching sand, even the tiny ones.

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