New Meyers Manx dune buggy to be released

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The classic dune buggy: It's part car... part play toy... part surf culture.

"It's a significant piece of automotive history," said veteran car designer and historian Stewart Reed.

It was a staple of the 1960s. First created in Newport Beach by a surfer and artist named Bruce Meyers, who worked crafting boats and surfboards and was inspired by all kinds of things.

"I loved the Funnies. I loved the cars that Mickey Mouse, Minney Mouse, Donald Duck, Andy Gump, they all drove these funny little cars with great big tires," recalled Meyers. "So I think that was a subliminal push on me to capture the feeling of those things along with the crazy lifestyle."

The Meyers Manx soon found its way into the spotlight.

In movies and television shows far and wide, when wheels and fun were called for, dune buggies often got the role.

They were a big part of the car culture and beach lifestyle that was springing out of Southern California in the '60s.

"I mean they kind of fit in in the way that the Beach Boys and the Woodies and people hanging out with little top-racks on their buggies with surfboards. I mean, it all fit," said Reed.

There's still so much interest in the dune buggy. Owners of the originals lovingly restore and show them. And now, an all-new Meyers Manx has been revealed to the delight of enthusiastic fans.

No price announced yet, and it still has to clear some regulatory hurdles, but the Meyers Manx is back.

Part of the appeal of the original Meyers Manx was the fact that it used a Volkswagen engine. Very simple, but maybe not the greenest thing these days.

That's all changing with the new one.

The new Manx -- developed and built by Las Vegas-based battery company ReVtech -- is fully electric. Good clean fun in a new yet familiar shape.

Meyers' legacy that started fairly innocently at a boat shop in Newport Beach will continue on well into the future.