Radial-engined Meyers Manx Dune Buggy enters Jay Leno’s garage

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The Meyers Manx is one of the most recognizable shapes in the automotive world, but the Manx recently unveiled in “Jay Leno’s Garage” hides a surprise under the familiar body.

As a refresher, the Meyers Manx dune buggy was created by bruce meyers, marrying a fiberglass body with a Volkswagen Beetle platform and flat-4 engine. Before his death in 2021, Meyers sold the company to venture capitalist Phillip Sarofim and car designer Freeman Thomas, whose resume includes the VW New Beetle and the original Audi TT, and have worked to bring back the Manx.

This Manx is one of the newly minted versions, but the engine in the rear has no VW DNA. It is a 2.0-liter radial engine, with the cylinders arranged in a circle around the crankshaft. This configuration is popular in aircraft and has been used in some military ground vehicles, but is rarely seen in automobiles. Designed for gyrocopters and light aircraft, this engine makes 200 hp in its standard naturally aspirated configuration (and 300 hp with a supercharger), but it’s detuned to 130 hp and 130 lb-ft of torque here.

How did this engine end up in a Manx? The company that builds it, Australian firm Radial Motion, has VW fans, Sarofim explains in the video. Looking to test the engine on the ground, they decided to install it in a Beetle called the “Zombie Bug”. It turned out to be a pretty good replacement for the original flat engine, and it even mates to the original VW transmission.

Unlike the VW engines traditionally used in Manx buggies, this one is also water-cooled (coolant is refilled through a hole in one of the twilight casings). The engine was also designed not to produce smoke, which is not always the case with aircraft piston engines, but is a must for road use, Sarofim noted.

It’s unclear if the radial-engined Manx will become a regular production model, but the company is launching an electric version. The full increase in production is scheduled for 2024.