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

Non-Mahindra News: Meyers Manx Kick-Out SS by Denmat Cars

Updates on the launch of Mahindra pickups in the US are a little slow lately. However, Mahindra Planet is working on some interesting projects for the near future so stay tuned…

A different subject for today: For those who don’t know, Bruce Meyers designed and built the first true lightweight dune buggy in the late 1960’s. Meyers Manx was the name of this first car, and it single-handedly popularized the off-road recreation industry in the United States. The Meyers Manx brought speed and high performance to the off-road scene that had previously been dominated by surplus military Jeeps or motorcycles. Meyers Manx dune buggies and countless copies became an icon of 70’s car culture.

The car in the photo above is a Meyers Manxter 2+2 TurboSurfer built by Denmat Cars (www.DenmatCars.com) of Forestdale, Massachusetts, USA. The Manxter is the ultimate evolution of Bruce Meyers’ 40 year-old design. Outfitted with a modern Subaru WRX engine, the car has a power to weight ratio that rivals modern supercars and achieves 0-60 mph under 4 seconds!

Denmat Cars is a good friend of Mahindra Planet, and by far the finest source and assembler for Meyers Manx. Denmat Cars is renowned for their engineering, quality, and meticulous attention to detail. Denmat Cars and Bruce Meyers himself will unveil the latest Meyers Manx model, the Kick-Out SS, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the Carlisle Import/Kit-Replicar Nationals on May 15-17, 2009.

If you are a fan of US car culture, or off-road racing history, you need to check out Denmat Cars and Meyers Manx. Even better, get yourself to Carlisle next weekend to meet Bruce Meyers and John Denmat, and check out the new Kick-Out SS!

Source: Denmat Cars