Off-roading is big business and the sport has grown in popularity considerably over the last decade, with more and more people across the globe realizing how much fun and enjoyment can be had from heading away from the tarmac. It is also a hobby that can be approached at all financial levels, with a number of cars being suitable contenders for cheap off-roader conversion. This makes it an ideal option for those who don't have pockets deep enough to invest in something as brazen as Hellcat swapped Apocalypse 6x6 Jeep Gladiator.

Butchering and adapting an existing ride to blast across a challenging surface is nothing new, and car fanatics have been doing it for decades. It was an approach that Dune Buggy creator Bruce Meyers took before deciding to flip the scene on its head back in the sixties, and design something completely new based on a Volkswagen Beetle.

Creating a whole new motoring segment through his own passion for cars and the Californian outdoors, Meyers birthed a vehicle that would not only be fun to drive but prove to be highly competitive when pitted in desert races. Odd-looking, yet fantastically simple in its application, the outline of the original and revolutionary Manx Dune Buggy is instantly recognizable by all. Having become something of a legend and a vehicle that has spanned generations, here are 10 reasons why we want a Manx dune buggy.

10 Bruce Meyers

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A Californian through and through, Bruce Meyers was a renowned engineer and boat builder who used his artistic flair and experience to design and build his first beach buggy, nicknamed Old Red, in 1963.

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Living to the ripe old age of 94, Bruce Meyers' buggy revolutionized the off-road driving and racing scene. Having been inspired to create the radical vehicle after seeing other off-roaders fail to cross the sand dunes close to where he surfed.

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9 Old Red

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The first of its kind, Old Red was a big departure from the other vehicles that spent time crawling over the dunes and across the Californian beaches, usually stripped out Jeeps with balloon tires and boasting big V8 motors.

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With a brightly painted fiberglass monocoque shell with attachment parts for Volkswagen Beetle suspension and drivetrain, Old Red proved to be far more proficient in the sand than the bigger, burlier four-wheel-drive vehicles.

8 Manx Buggy

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Proving costly to build, only 11 further fiberglass monocoques were cast before the design was altered so that it would sit over a shortened VW Beetle floor plan, an exercise that proved to be key to the success of the vehicle.

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A force to be reckoned with within desert racing, the Manx Buggy, named after the short-tailed cat, dominated racing events and set records from the get-go winning the inaugural 1967 Mexican 1000, the forerunner to the Baja 1000.

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7 Fun In The Sun

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From day one, Meyers wanted the beach buggy to stand for just one thing, fun. It was with this ethos that the project was born, as Meyers' artistic side sought inspiration from his love of surfing and his surroundings.

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Having captured the attention of other fun-loving beach goers and desert racers, roughly six-thousand Manx buggies were made before a failed patent registration opened the marketplace to copycat items.

6 Manxter 2+2

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Having seen a massive resurgence in interest in the original Manx Buggy following the forming of Meyers Manx Inc in 2000 and its subsequent release of 100 special edition Classics, it was decided that a new model would be in order.

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Redesigned to take a full-sized VW Beetle floorplan the Manxter 2+2 was generally assembled by keen home builders from vintage parts yet, in some cases, the engine was swapped out for a more powerful Subaru turbocharged unit.

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5 Manxter DualSport

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Alongside the Manxter 2+2 the far more off-road orientated DualSport was introduced and offered far more modern amenities such as heated seats, a radio, modern mechanicals, and sophisticated suspension options to tackle all terrains.

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Builders also had the choice of taking the traditional route by installing air-cooled engines or taking full advantage of the newer frame and installing something much more potent, like a nitrous kit and supercharger.

4 Hollywood Star

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It wasn't long before the Manx buggy caught the attention of Hollywood moviemakers, with the vehicle featuring in a number of Elvis Presley films, its own cartoon series, and as children toy Barbies ride of choice.

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The buggies most famous outing though has to be the 1968 Steve McQueen putting the Thomas Crown Affair in which the King of Cool pilots his Chevy-powered ride up and over dunes with ease, grabbing air in the process.

3 Hugely Modifiable

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Thanks to its VW Beetle donor platform, there are a huge number of options for those seeking more power, more speed, or simply more comfort. All of the knowledge that has been plowed into making a Beetle better over the years can be transferred to a Manx Buggy.

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Having given birth to a whole new industry the Manx Dune Buggy has an enormous aftermarket parts supplier base, whatever the part, or end-user purpose, there will be an outlet somewhere in the world that will stock what is needed.

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2 Homegrown

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With a likely 250,000 dune buggies in general circulation only around 5,000 of those are genuine Manxes, with the original spawning a flourishing copycat market these often lower quality imitations were usually sold as kit cars.

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Easily built at home as a relatively simple project, these Manx copies, usually based on an identical design, would be bolted together from a general plan of parts. They were often adapted or modified to fit the vision of the individual builder.

1 Groovy Icon & Legacy

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The Manx Buggy has become a design icon, often used to depict the Californian carefree surfer way of life it is replicated in toys and clothing, whilst its image has been used to enhance marketing campaigns the world over.

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Cashing in further on the cool image portrayed by the original, Volkswagen produced its own ID Buggy, an EV concept that wanted to capture the unique experience that piloting a buggy has whilst being more environmentally friendly.