Three-quarters front view of a Blue, 1967, Volkswagen Beetle Beach Buggy, on display at the 2023 Deal Classic Care Show


For dune buggies built on the chassis of an existing vehicle, the Volkswagen Beetle has been most commonly used as the basis for the buggy, though conversions were made from other cars (such as the Corvair and Renault Dauphine). The model is nicknamed Bug, lending partial inspiration to the term "buggy." The Beetle platform chassis was used because the rear engine layout improves traction, the air-cooled engine[4][5] avoids the complexities and failure points associated with a water-cooled engine, the Beetle's front torsion bar suspension was not only considered cheap and robust,[6] but it was also extremely easy to alter and adjust its ride-height. Furthermore, spare parts — and donor vehicles themselves — were cheap and readily available.[7] While early dune buggy conversions were left with no body, or featured custom bodies of sheet metal (such as the EMPI Sportsters and similar buggies), glass-reinforced plastic (fiberglass) bodies, developed in the 1960s, have become the standard image of the modern buggy, and come in many shapes and sizes. The original fiberglass dune buggy was the 1964 "Meyers Manx" built by Bruce Meyers. Bruce Meyers designed his fiberglass bodies as a "kit car", using the Volkswagen Beetle chassis. Many other companies worldwide have been inspired by the Manx, making similar bodies and kits. These types of dune buggies are known as "clones".


Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Betteshanger Country Park, Sandwich Rd, Deal
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -quarters, 1500cc, 1967, angle, based, beach, beetle, betteshanger, blue, buggy, country, dune, front, park, sandwich, view, volkswagen