Has there ever been a happier car than a buggy? The ‘Dune Buggy’ or ‘Sand Buggy’ originated in the early 1960s in California, a state obsessed with surfing and cars. It was Bruce Meyer who built a buggy based on the VW Beetle to race around on the sandy beaches and deserts. The Meyer Manx Buggy became immensely popular and was copied by many other car manufacturers.

This was also the case in Belgium. Apal and Ritter were not the only ones building buggies in Belgium. From the end of the 1960s, Vanclee buggies were also built in Roeselare. The principle was the same: a Beetle chassis, shortened or not, formed the basis, on which an open polyester body was placed.

The Vanclee buggies were high quality and, at around 250,000 BEF, not exactly cheap, but for those who were handy, they were also available as a kit. The Vanclee buggy was donated to us by Mrs Baix, who is a regular visitor to the museum. The buggy was completely restored by the museum and is now ready to drive again and on display in the museum.