- 4,924
- United States
- Stawookie
Engine: 1.5L Air-Cooled Flat-4
Horsepower: 53
Torque: 78 ft. lbs.
Transmission: 4-Speed Manual
Weight: 900 LBS (408 KG)
Top Speed: N/A
After the initial success of the Manx, Bruce Meyers decided to get into motorsports with his brand. Meyers eventually built the Tow'd, their first open wheel dirt racer. The first examples weren't street legal at the time so it had to be towed to the races hence the name. It had a retractable tow bar on the front of the car. The first two Tow’d cars were one-off builds, with aluminum front ends. The first Tow'd was sold to Bob Major of Major Car's in California. Major’s car was powered by a Porsche 356 flat-four when he entered it in the ’67 Las Vegas 711. Major and co-driver/mechanic Bob Anderson had a spirited start in the 711, but electrical problems ended their run early, and an upcoming accident for Bruce Meyers was about to discourage Major from off-road racing.
In 1968, Meyers took his Tow’d down to Mexico, and a nasty crash in the Baja desert during the race left him with two broken legs and nearly a full day to stare at his own ankle bones until he was finally noticed and rescued. It didn’t stop Meyers from returning to off-road racing, but Major put the No. 20 Tow’d aside, and the car went first to a French collector and finally ended up in Perry Margouleff’s collection, now with a VW engine but still taped up for the Vegas race with a thermos of water for the driver and a plastic bottle of oil for the car stuck to the roll bars. Only about 1,000 Tow’d kits were made during the Manx production years.
