This rare Meyers Manx SR was a street oriented version of Manx dune buggy of 1970s

Rare ONES One of the many uniquely shaped cars that were presented in mid sixties to early seventies was the famous Meyers Manx dune buggy by Bruce Meyers, and was known widely used as a special vehicle to explore sandy beach areas during that era.

The Meyers Manx SR was built first in 1970 as the road-going version of the Meyers Manx under wedge-shaped styling coupled with front-hinged scissor doors. (Picture from: BringATrailer)

Its initial production was a 1964 Meyers Manx 'Old Red,' which built by Meyers to race in Baja Mexico. He built this original dune buggies and later variants on shortened Volkswagen Beetle frames. As you can see, the Meyers Manx has a swoopy fiberglass bodywork, and retains used the drivetrain taken from the Beetle.

The Meyers Manx SR featured with a removable targa roof and sidescreens which provide much better weather protection than the buggy ones. (Picture from: OldBug)

And soon this Meyers Manx buggy became popular in the beach community. Its popularity was further boosted when one of these buggies (albeit powered by a Chevrolet engine) made an appearance in the 1968 movie-titled 'The Thomas Crown Affair,' starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.

The first-built1964 Meyers Manx 'Old Red' dune buggy posed along with its creator Bruce Meyers. (Picture from: Wikipedia)

Perhaps this Meyers Manx beach buggy is the most well-known Bruce Meyers has ever produced, but apparently it and its ilk aren't the only ones he's produced at B.F. Meyers & Co. between the mid-1960s and early 1970s. At that time, Meyer's company also developed its road-going sibling named Meyers Manx SR (Street Roadster), as the name indicated to the intention for this new car to be a street-based sports car.

The Meyers Manx SR featured with a removable targa roof and sidescreens which provide much better weather protection than the buggy ones. (Picture from: OldBug)

The concept is simple enough, like its siblings, the Meyers Manx SR's body is built from lightweight fiberglass, but features scissor-styled doors that bolt onto the shortened Volkswagen Beetle chassis, and thus create an inexpensive sports car that anyone can buy and maintain.

The cover of the May 1970 issue of Car & Driver Magazine showcasing the new Meyers Manx SR. (Picture from: Silodrome)

B.F. Meyers & Co. introduced this uniquely-shaped Meyers Manx Street Roadster to the world in 1970 and immediately received such rapturous acclaims. Even it had appeared on the cover of one of the world's most popular car magazines Car & Driver, and the magazine's journalists spoke highly of the unassuming little sports car, going far to compare it favourably with the then-new Porsche 914.

A period magazine article about the Meyers Manx SR by Hardy Burgundy Jnr. (Picture from: Silodrome)

It's not hard to find the reason why Meyers Manx SR became so popular among the press at that time. Because this is indeed the first new design to come off the drawing board of Bruce Meyers since he introduced the first Meyers Manx and immediately changed the world of beach buggies and kit cars.

The Meyers Manx SR has a sporty interior with twin bucket seats coupled with simple dashboard arrangement. (Picture from: BringATrailer)

As quoted from Silodrome, for the design of his new car, Bruce Meyers teamed up with a young designer graduated from the Art Center College of Design in California, named Stewart Reed, who brought some fresh and cutting-edged ideas of the time such as wedge-shaped styling and front-hinged scissor doors (four years before the same door design was applied to the Lamborghini Countach).

The Meyers Manx SR usually powered by a rear-mounted air-cooled the Beetle's 40 hp stock engine or a hot rodded engine producing power of more 80 hp. (Picture from: Hemmings)

The main body of the Manx SR consists of 13 molded fiberglass sections are attached to the Beetle's shortened chassis. The car comes with a removable targa roof and sidescreens which provide much better weather protection than the buggy ones, and thanks to its curb weight of around 1,500 lbs, it offers good performance under the Beetle's 40 hp stock engine, and more over 100 mph performance if used a hot rodded engine producing power of more 80 hp.

Besides powered by rear-mounted air-cooled engine, the Meyers Manx SR also featured with four-wheel independent suspensions. (Picture from: BringATrailer)

The Manx SR body was known made by Karma Coachworks in California, and during its production period of 1970, estimated about 200 units ever produced. Due to the prolific and inexpensive nature of second-hand VW Beetles in the 1960s and 1970s it was the perfect platform for this kind of kit car. So that the owners can proudly mentioned it much like the Porsche 911, one of the flagship sports cars of the time, it was also powered by a rear-mounted air-cooled engine, coupled with four-wheel independent suspensions.

Reportedly the Meyers Manx SR inspired the birth of this Bricklin SV-1 production car by Malcolm Bricklin which appeared four years later in 1974. (Picture from: Wikipedia)

Reportedly the Manx SR inspired the birth of the Bricklin SV-1 production car which appeared four years later in 1974. Due to one of the few factory-built Manx SRs was shipped to a man named Malcolm Bricklin who later known as founder of Bricklin Vehicle Corporation.

Even though it has received a lot of praise from the media and has extraordinary performance capabilities, in fact the sales of the Manx SR cannot be said to be as successful as its siblings which sold more than 6,000 units. It's unknown how many are still on the road today, though there are groups online dedicated to restoring them and keeping them alive. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SILODROME | BRINGATRAILER | OLDBUG | HEMMINGS | WIKIPEDIA | JOURNALCLASSICCARS | GRAUTOGALLERY | CARSTHATNEVERMADEITETC ]

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