Though there have been a huge number of beach buggy manufacturers over the years (James Hale’s updated version of his 1999 Dune Buggy Handbook lists over 80 for starters), it’s pretty rare to come across one we’ve never seen before, but such was the situation when the pictures of this crazy creation landed on our desk. We needed to know more.
In the mid-1960s, when the buggy phenomenon really exploded, its epicentre was California. Bruce Meyers led the charge, but even he could not possibly have imagined that his cheery fun car concept would spread in the way it did across the globe. Clearly, beach buggies are more suited to countries that have more sunshine than rain. Beaches, too. And a ready of supply of old Volkswagens to decapitate to build them.
Places like Australia and France, then, also became beach buggy hot spots. Both had boat industries, and
