Iconic Meyers Manx Beach there’s a mistake was awarded electricity to create this – Meyers Manx 2.0 Electric. It retains much of the look of the original, while delivering anything but the original performance.
First, a bit of history. 1964 saw the legendary Bruce Meyers build his first Meyers Manx. It has a unibody shell that fuses the fuselage, wings and frame together. The more conventional powertrain, which is the engine and transmission from one Volkswagen Beetle.
Meyers Manx is so popular that it has made a lot of copies from other manufacturers. Even Volkswagen’s all-electric ID concept. from 2019 it is possible to trace its design back to the original Manx.
Bruce Meyers, sold his eponymous company in late 2020 after 56 years in charge, before passing away in March 2021 at the age of 94. The new owner, Trousdale Ventures, renamed the company Meyers Manx , LLC.
The new electric 2.0 buggy was designed by Freeman Thomas, CEO of Meyers Manx LLC. He has a history of reinventing iconic cars including Volkswagen Concept 1 in 1994 – which eventually turned into New Beetle a few years later.
The 2.0 Electric Buggy’s fat proportions, cramped off-road tires, no doors, high ground clearance, flared wings and, of course, those round headlights are all typical features of a beach buggy. However, while the original buggy had a rear-mounted engine, most of the Manx 2.0’s weight was under the floorboards in the form of its battery pack.
Trousdale Ventures CEO Phillip Sarofim told US magazine TechCrunch that the Manx 2.0 will come in a choice of 20kWh and 40kWh battery packs, giving it a range of 150 or 300 miles.
Power is sent to the rear wheels and the company claims 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds. The new Manx is estimated to weigh a bit more than the original’s 567kg at 680kg or 750kg depending on the battery, but it will still be one of the legit light electric cars on the market.
You can learn more about the Electric Buggy 2.0 when it’s revealed at Monterey Car Week later this month.
