There are cars, and then there are legends born not on racetracks or assembly lines, but in the warm salt air of Californian beaches. Hand-shaped in fiberglass and fired with the rebellious spirit of the 1960s, the Meyers Manx quickly made a name for itself after shattering records in the 1967 Baja 1000 and laid the foundations for off-road racing culture. Surfer, boat builder, artist, and all-around California dreamer Bruce F. Meyers’ vision of the perfect do-it-all runaround quickly became the go-to for the West Coast’s youth and remains one of the most iconic vehicles occasionally seen on the roads. If you had been lucky enough to see one, it may well have been Meyers Manx’s Creative Director Hagop Kalaidjian, who set out to experience just how capable the remastered buggies really are, spanning hundreds of kilometres along undulating coastal paths and tearing up marble quarries like a longboard carves a wave.
“In the summer before shooting this story, I had driven this Manx buggy from up in the mountains in St. Moritz, down the alps to the northern coast of Italy, onto a ferry to Sardinia, to the Poltu Quatu concours. I had a group to drive with but was still a bit hesitant to put that many miles on it. These buggies are built well but it’s still based on a 60 year old car” Hagop explains, “thankfully I or the others in convoy had no issue, I just had to keep an eye on my fuel levels. I stayed in Sardinia for a few weeks, it was great to use it as a proper beach buggy daily driver, after doing this adventurous crossing with it, using it for morning grocery runs, hopping in and out of it with wet bathing suits and sandy feet. It’s this incredibly capable off-road adventure car that broke records in the Baja 1,000, but it’s the simplicity and fun factor as a daily driver that makes so wildly entertaining.”
Hagop is no stranger to being around the Meyers Manx tribe, being the brand’s Creative Director and part of the team responsible for this cool-as-ice brand to stay just as on trend as it was in the 1960s. With the previous year’s trip spurring on his confidence in the Manx’s long distance capability, he wanted the up the ante a little, taking the very same buggy deeper into Italy’s many wonderous locations, and began to plan his route.
Commencing after the dazzling Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este, Hagop left Lake Como with Liguria in his sights to meet his family, covering some 250 kilometres of varying road widths and speeds, before spending some time doing exactly what the Meyers Manx does so effortlessly well: pootling around sun-kissed towns serving as the ultimate grocery getter. Feeling suitably relaxed, Hagop set off northbound towards Brescia for the start of the Mille Miglia and soak in the unrivalled atmosphere of historic racing at its very best. “Of course, the car wasn't old enough to qualify, but it was a thrill just to follow alongside their course. I went to university in Florence, Italy – when a student there I got to see the Mille Miglia come down Via Cavour, and have been fascinated by the event ever since – it has been a dream of mine to participate. This got me a little bit closer, buggying alongside the event as it came through a few towns along the Italian Riviera."
"Beach culture is alive and well in Italy, which means buggy culture is alive and well in Italy. It’s common to see ‘Spiaggina’ cars all along the coastal towns of the Med, and a sparkling Meyers Manx grabs a lot of attention, waves and smiles."
After the thrill of chasing priceless classics along some of Italy’s most treasured roads, Hagop spent some time buzzing around Tuscany and Florence, before heading to the coast once more for an unforgettable photo opportunity. “I’ve always dreamt of exploring the marble quarries in Carrara, and what a thrill it was to (...unofficially) climb these white mountain trails with a buggy, seeing the gargantuan marble slabs being cut out of the mountain, feeling the different warm and cool temperatures as I passed through mountain tunnels with boots and tires all covered in a moon-white marble dust. It was a thrill and such a fun way to see it!”
The big question is, where next for Hagop and the trusty Meyers Manx? "We’ve actually always dreamt about putting a Meyers Manx on the moon, like the buggy NASA used on the later Apollo missions. We’ve even done studies and rendered artwork on what that would look like and feel like, a ‘moonshot’ for sure. Off roading through the white dust of the marble quarry drew some parallels for me that were so fun." For now, we can all enjoy these stunning images, and only helps to strengthen just why it is we love the Meyers Manx so much. It’s more than a car. It’s a memory machine. A fiberglass metaphor for every good road trip, every ocean breeze, every laugh with friends around a beach campfire, it’s a reminder that driving doesn’t need 600 horsepower or radar-guided cruise control, just a simple chassis, a playful soul, and some clear blue sky!
