Thursday, May 20, 2010

Meet Off-Road Pioneer: Bruce Meyers

For those who don’t know who he is, Bruce Meyers is one of the true founding fathers of the US off-road industry. His crowning achievement? Inventing the dune buggy as we know it today: The Meyers Manx.


Meyers Manx dune buggies took the US desert racing and recreation scene by storm when they placed first and second in class at their very first official race, the Mexican 1000, back in 1967. With additional success at Baja and Pikes Peak, the lightweight and resilient little Manx ushered in a new era for off-road vehicles and set the standard for contemporary desert racing vehicles. At the time, off-roading was dominated by motorcycles and surplus military vehicles. Bruce used his boat building knowledge and created a lightweight fiberglass body which utilized the cheap, reliable, and plentiful VW Beetle platform with its simple but rugged suspension and drivetrain.

When most people think ‘dune buggy’ the first image that comes to mind is Meyers’ iconic Manx design. A design replicated by at least 75 different companies who eventually built well over 100,000 copies of the Manx since its first appearance in 1966.

Today, Bruce has resumed building the Manx in addition to several new models based on the classic theme: The Manxster 2+2, Manxster DualSport, and the Kick-Out SS Manx.

Bruce and his wife Winnie will be in Carlisle Pennsylvania this weekend (May 21-23, 2010), making a rare east coast appearance at the Carlisle Import & Kit Nationals. I encourage anyone wanting to meet the Meyers to make the trip to southern PA.

Denmat Cars will also be on hand with their 300hp, 1,900 pound Meyers Manxter 2+2 TurboSurfer. If you haven’t seen the TurboSurfer before, be prepared to be blown away. Denmat Cars is the only authorized east coast assembler for Meyers cars. John and Dave Denmat will be available to discuss their methodical Meyers car builds and options for building a Meyers for you.

Source: DenmatCars, MeyersManx, CarAndDriver.com (for an excellent interview), Carlisle Events
Images: MeyersManx, DenmatCars

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