The Meyers Manx is among the most recognizable shapes in automobiledom, however the Manx lately featured on “Jay Leno’s Storage” hides a shock beneath the acquainted bodywork.
As a refresher, the Meyers Manx dune buggy was created by Bruce Meyers, marrying a fiberglass physique with a Volkswagen Beetle platform and flat-4 engine. Earlier than his demise in 2021, Meyers offered the corporate to enterprise capitalist Phillip Sarofim and automotive designer Freeman Thomas—whose résumé consists of the VW New Beetle and the unique Audi TT—and so they have labored to carry the Manx again.
This Manx is among the newly minted variations, however the engine within the again has no VW DNA. It is a 2.0-liter radial engine, with the cylinders organized in a circle across the crankshaft. This configuration is standard in plane, and has been utilized in some terrestrial army automobiles, however isn’t seen in vehicles. Designed for gyrocopters and bush planes, this engine makes 200 hp in its naturally aspirated inventory configuration (and 300 hp with a supercharger), however is detuned to 130 hp and 130 lb-ft of torque right here.
How did this engine find yourself in a Manx? The corporate that builds it, Australian agency Radial Movement, is staffed with VW followers, Sarofim explains within the video. Trying to take a look at the engine on the bottom, they determined to put in it in a Beetle dubbed “Zombie Bug.” It turned out to be a reasonably good substitute for the unique flat engine, and even {couples} to the inventory VW transmission.
Not like the VW engines historically utilized in Manx dune buggies, this one can be water-cooled (the coolant is refilled via a gap in one of many twilight housings). The engine was additionally designed to be smokeless, not all the time the case with plane piston engines, however a should for highway use, Sarofim famous.
It is unclear if the radial-engine Manx will grow to be a daily manufacturing mannequin, however the firm is launching an electrical model. A full manufacturing ramp-up is scheduled for 2024.
