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Beach Car Special: Buggies, Mehari and more!

A separate phenomenon was the irruption of the Dune buggies o "Beach fleas", created for use in California's deserts and beaches and succeeding the bodys wooden paneled heritage of the “surfers”, which would be equivalent, saving the distances, to our “blonde” vans and which gave rise to a whole range and series of European sequels, almost always on a beetle or Renault basis.

The image of these vehicles would inevitably join the desire for freedom of the rebellious society of the 70s, represented in the hippie movement and its new slogans of free love and "not to the war". Many recognized builders conceive in the 70 hundreds version units "Buggy", be it in the form of a kit or of cars already assembled on VW mechanics, as did the German Karmann and the Belgian Apal (Application Polystere Arme Liège) with their Auki, Buggy, Corsa and Jet models; or like its neighbor Liberta, this time with R8 and R10 or SIMCA engines.

In Switzerland the signature swiss buggy since 72 manufactured several hundred plastic bodies that were proposed in the form of kits which enabled the owner of a beetle to transform it at home into a new playful machine. In France, a whole host of marginal builders met such as LM-Sovra, Marlan -with their Monks licensed Volksrod and Multimaco buggies- the Baboulin Bab-buggy, the Sarap Buffalo, the Ritter, Sovra LM1 and LM2, etc.

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beach classics
The APAL buggy has an archetypal appearance: It is the typical VW Beetle based buggy.
beach cars
As we will see below, the amphibian Amphicar also has its "recreational" applications.

On the other hand, there were the Portuguese versions of Marques Pereira and Meles, with the Minitara and Jiptaray, the Austrian Custoka Buggy Amigo, and the hundreds of British kit builders, impossible to list but looking closer to Midget than buggies. , with some exceptions such as the Ranchero GP and the Siva Llama (1974).

Already in other latitudes. we had the North American buggy manufacturers Dunbar, Leyeres and Fiberfab, the Deserter from Autodynamics (1968) and those from Samtract and Mustang. Australia participated with the country-buggy. For its part, in Argentina we met the Mambo (1990) and finally, in Brazil, the Gurgel.

Buggies also began to be seen in Spain, although based on the 600 and thanks to artisan transformers: Thus, the Buggy from Diversport or the Drac Buggy from Sabadell could be recognized ...

The advent of the adventurers

There were several batches of cars manufactured in Spain based on VW, such as Ben Heidrich's Hispano-Alemán buggies or the JABA buggy from the Navarrese artisan manufacturer and engineer JA Berasaluze (several units made of sheet metal and fiberglass); and then the Buggy by Artés de Arcos, all of them presented as recreational vehicles and that had their natural evolution towards the construction of replicas that due to their peculiar composition are not the objects of this article.

Other beach derivatives of the type Dune Buggy o Fun car They were the 600 Rany from Moretta de Cádiz workshops and Gredos, again on the mechanical basis of the 600, with polyester and fiberglass bodywork and tubular chassis manufactured by Carrozauto (1972); or the extravagant 6 × 6 Wild Cat by Artés de Arcos (1971) and the lunar-like prototype “Spider-Cat”. In any case, all these vehicles became known by dropper on the Spanish coast and its islands and began to be replaced by the more versatile “adventure” type recreational vehicles.

The emergence of Bertone's Fiat Spider in 1965 - manufactured in Spain from 1969 by SEAT as the 850 Sport Spider - and of previous derivative versions such as the Milton or the Corver, opens a new segment for young cars with sporty characteristics and an affordable price. designed more to be seen than as beachgoers. And that's not counting the very rare Alpine cabriolet, which in 1968 was worth 186.000 pesetas, not much more than what was asked for an MG.

beach classics
Hispano-Balear Condesa, another island buggy
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The flamboyant Wildcat perhaps felt more comfortable in the field

The beachgoers of generalist brands

On the other hand, there have always been derivatives of leisure passenger cars offered by large firms. We talk about the quartet configured by the Volkswagen 181 or "Kurierwagen", the Mini Moke that was also manufactured for the markets of Australia and Portugal, where it was known as California; of the Rodeo model of the Renault and the Citroën Mehari.

The VW 181 "Delivery courier" It was launched in 1969 and had its reason for being in the military sphere, to give continuity to the orders of DKW Munga whose life was coming to an end. The 181, a fake all-terrain vehicle, was born with the idea of ​​responding to a lot of utilities beyond its military or police life, such as hunting and fishing or enjoying it on the beaches in summer. This application attests to a version manufactured in the Mexican subsidiary that was known by the name Beach Acapulco and which curiously was nicknamed in the American lands "the thing".

beach classics
Volkswagen 181, another beachboy with military origins

With a metallic body and with the mechanical base of the 1600, it was provided with a plastic hood. Contemporary to him and first cousin of the amphibious version of the kubelwagen, the Schwimmwagen It was born as the only truly amphibious vehicle apart from the Wildcat and the German Amphicar (1961-1968) with a 1147 cc Trimph Herald engine.

For its part, the playful version of Austin, the Mini-Moke, debuts as the military airborne version of the Mini, whose name later derives from the "Mule"; its civilian version was available since 1964. The Mini-Moke did not enjoy a great presence in Spain, with only a few imported units, although there was an attempt to manufacture a similar campero derivative at AUTHI on the Morris 1300 base as the English, sarcastically, they called "Donkey". The imported convertible versions of the Mini Crayford came to our homeland with a dropper ...

beach cars
The ground clearance of the Mehari was and is a point in favor of its versatility
beach cars
Evolution in miniature. Among other well-known, Renault Rodeo, in front of the 2CV

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Citroën Mehari and Renault Rodeo

Unlike the Beetle and Mini platforms, which require reinforcements, the Mehari, built on the chassis and mechanical base of the Dyane, allows easier processing. Its bathtub, clear of obstacles and initially delimited with a single chain as doors, designed in tinted ABS, is easily washable and withstands minor bumps and scratches.

The Mehari was the result of the initiative of the plastics company SEAB and arrived in Spain in 1970 after being presented at the 1969 Barcelona Show. It would remain in the catalog until almost 20 years later. Offered in our country in colors such as red, beige and green, and later in butane yellow and pistachio, it had a price of 120.000 pesetas. More than 140.000 units were manufactured worldwide.

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Obviously it was available to the pocket of the Spanish more than the VW 181 or the Moke, which could only be imported or re-registered after being owned by foreigners. Its versatility (it can be cleaned with a hose and can accommodate hammocks and beach chairs), together with its certain off-road capacity, especially due to the height of its wheels, has meant that most Spanish units have ended up on the Mediterranean coast. .

Thus, we can observe all types of license plates and dispersed provincial origins, including many foreign Mehari, with the added problem that part of them, being declared as three-seater industrial vehicles, must pass the ITV every six months, which represents a difficulty for vacationers with a seasonal home.

Finally there was the French Renault that, spurred on by the success of the vehicles "of leisure", decides to make his own version based on the R-4. The manufacturer SINPAR took charge of the matter (which would give so many joys with its 4 × 4 versions in competition) and, initially, the result was called "Plain air" (68-70). It was followed by "Torpedoes" on a R-4F base, also in the form of a plastic bathtub and known as Rodeo 4 (1970) and 6 (1972).

They were presented with names such as Evasion, Chantier, Coursière and Quatre Stations, based on their different arrangement of roofs and side panels. Another French candidate to represent the vehicles of "loisirs" was the MATRA SIMCA Rancho (77-84), based on the Simca 1100 ...

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Written by Miguel Martín

Miguel Martín Zurimendi (Bilbao, 1961) is a doctor and ergonomist, and considers himself a researcher in the history of the automobile. A regular collaborator in various projects related to the automobile, he has specialized in the contribution of the industry of the Basque Country of Navarre to the development of ... Read more

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