You might not know the Meyers Manx name, but you definitely know its shape.
This is the original beach buggy: designed in the 1960s as a no-frills, Beetle-based hobby car that could be assembled cheaply at home. It is, if you like, America’s take on the Caterham.
It’s the brainchild of the legendary Bruce Meyers, who completed his first car in 1964 and was 94 when he and wife Winnie finally retired in 2020, and continued to contribute to its story until he died a year later.
“We got some time with him before he passed, which was great,” says Michael Potiker, a partner at Trousdale Ventures – the venture capital firm “that’s basically incubating Meyers Manx”, having acquired it from Bruce in 2020.
“He wasn’t ill when we did the deal. It wasn’t something we needed to get done because he was going to pass away. It seemed like he was going to live forever. He had that vibe to him,” says Potiker.
Meyers’ original company, BF Meyers & Co, was actually a relatively short-lived business, folding in 1971 after just seven years due to financial issues.
He resurrected the name in 2000 when he founded Meyers Manx Inc and restarted production of his Beetle-based creations, adding the longer-wheelbase Manxter 2+2 and Dualsport, and the new-look (well, newer) Manx Kick-out, building the company’s profile over the next two decades and establishing a community of loyal customers and fans.
Potiker says Trousdale founder – and now Meyers chairman – Phillip Sarofim “grew up driving Manx buggies and always had an affinity for them”.
When Potiker had his first go, he was quickly sold on the Manx’s broad appeal, which transcends social class and has become almost as recognisable and beloved as the Beetle on which it is based.
He says: “When I drove the car around downtown San Diego, I was getting thumbs up from everybody on the street, and then I took it to an upscale area and it was the same thumbs up. It’s a classless car.”