Reborn electric beach buggy goes on sale for an eye-watering price

The Meyers Manx was once the automotive icon of the ‘flower-power era’ – but now its electric successor has launched in the US with a $US74,000 ($AU115,000) price tag.

A modern electric-powered version of the classic Meyers Manx – the beach buggy synonymous with the swinging 1960s – has gone on sale in the US, but with a luxury-car price tag.

Revealed in August 2022, the Meyers Manx Electric 2.0 is a reincarnation of the original 1960s beach buggy – which used to be little more than a fibreglass body on top of Volkswagen Beetle mechanicals.

However, the company building the modern Manx has announced the new model will be priced from $US74,000 – equivalent to almost $115,000 in Australian currency, or about $20,000 more than Tesla’s flagship Model Y Performance locally.

MORE: The incredible story of the Meyers Manx dune buggy

For that price, buyers get outputs of 150kW and 325Nm courtesy of two electric motors and a 20kWh battery pack, for a claimed driving range of 240km. And a claimed sub-five-second 0-100km/h sprint time.

A longer-range variant with a 40kWh battery was announced in the US last year, though it has not  yet been made available. 

Meyers claims its order books are open for the first 50 ‘beta’ customers, who are expected to receive their electric beach buggies in 2024 – a year behind schedule – ahead of production ramping up.

As reported by US publication CarBuzz, buyers who participate in the beta program take ownership of the electric car for 12 months – where they will be expected to reach an unspecified minimum mileage number, which allows Meyers to collect data to help improve the electric Manx.

Unfortunately for Australians interested in the Meyers Manx Electric, it is not able to be legally road registered locally due to only being produced for left-hand-drive markets. And given its open design and minimal side-impact protection, it may not meet our Australian Design Rule safety requirements.

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