Between 1964 and 1970, one kind of car set off-road records, won races, made its way into movies and pop culture, brought its maker fame, and then nearly destroyed him. The car was copied thousands of times and remains instantly recognizable today. If you guessed Shelby Cobra, here’s another hint: It was also quite good off-road. No vicious snake, this, but an agile, bobtailed cat—the Meyers Manx.
The Meyers Manx was born like Venus out of the ocean’s foam, a transformation of surfer culture into four-wheeled transport made possible through the talents and madness of wave rider and all-around hot rodder Bruce Meyers. It was the early ’60s in Southern California, and if the songs are to be believed, the world was all waves and girls and ocean side bonfires. Meyers was a happy beach bum at the time. “I’m not a car guy,” he tells us, “I never thought of anything beyond tomorrow’s surf.” Read more >
