Monterey Car Week is really just getting started, but Tuthill and Meyers have already won it with a creation that’s here to neck champers and blow out the speakers. It’s called the LFG, and if you can work out what those letters stand for, you’ll appreciate how delightfully unsubtle everything about it is. Even though it was spied earlier, it’s still wild enough to shock and awe. This flat-six-powered dune buggy is here to have a good time, and that’s something we can enthusiastically get behind.
In case you need your memory jogged, Richard Tuthill is something of a mad scientist. A Porsche rallyist and specialist by trade, he and his firm have branched out into some truly spectacular projects over the past few years. There’s the 11,000-RPM air-cooled Porsche 911K, the 911 GT1-inspired mid-engined row-your-own GT One hypercar, and now this, the LFG.
Fundamentally, it’s a modern Meyers Manx raised on a diet of dance punk and Nitro Circus. In short, it looks like a party, and it all starts with the engine. Under the coachwork, you’ll find a derivation of the 11,000-RPM four-valve flat-six from the 911K, turning fossil fuel into forward motion and glorious noise thanks to an Inconel exhaust system. Speaking of forward motion, you aren’t going to find unpowered axles here. All-wheel drive’s done properly thanks to limited-slip front, center, and rear differentials, perfect for clawing at loose surfaces. Speaking of drivetrain bits, the LFG comes with a dramatic lever-action sequential gearbox like you’d find on a racing car, and yes, that’s a hydraulic handbrake on the right side of the console. Party time, indeed.
In case none of that seems bonkers enough, the suspension is where things get really nutty because the LFG features not four, but six five-way adjustable coilovers, two at each rear corner and one at each front corner. Hydraulic bump stops keep everything tidy when returning to terra firma from short-duration flight, and the hardware itself looks bonkers when viewed through those big wheel arches. Obviously, BFGoodrich all-terrain tires are the right choice here, and four-piston calipers provide whoa-power when it’s time to bring the fun back down to sensible levels.
While the LFG certainly evokes the cues of a classic dune buggy, a build of this caliber isn’t going to be some spartan fiberglass affair. The body is all carbon fiber, there’s actual air conditioning, you get GPS navigation and a long-range fuel tank and Apple CarPlay and LED lighting to illuminate your way at night.
Better still, this isn’t a few-off car with just a handful of examples planned for existence. Tuthill and Meyers intend to build 100 of these things, which isn’t a small number when you consider that the market for flat-six-powered, to-the-moon-revving, hyper dune buggies is probably quite small. This means there’s a chance you may actually see one someday, especially as Tuthill wants owners not just to drive their LFG buggies, but off-road them. The first trek kicks off in 2027, an inaugural LFG Baja Tour that’ll celebrate 50 years since the Meyers Manx won what was then known as the Mexican 1000 off-road race. As for why, Richard Tuthill put it well:
It’s fairly well known that I love experiences. I love the effect they have on those that join us wherever we go. This, however, is slightly different… We’re not necessarily bringing the stopwatch with us on these trips. I want to take people to see the most amazing parts of the world. I have been super lucky to see some life changing scenery whilst rallying, and the memories I have as a result are immeasurable. These things change you–I think for the better.
Obviously, the LFG isn’t going to be inexpensive, and while a price hasn’t yet been published, previous Tuthill special projects of this level have run into the hypercar cost bracket. So, why spend big money on this versus something more traditional? Well, to quote James Murphy, “If you’re not having fun, you suck.” Cars should be a riot, and the LFG seems like a frantic overdriven guitar riff on wheels.
Top graphic image: Tuthill
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a dune buggy is supposed to be fiberglass, on a vw chassis and even more simplified than a beetle. extra points if it’s a meyers manx body! if you’re playing in sand, you want the simplest you can build.
it does look cool though.
Let’s f*cking GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Man, if they would just sell a fiberglass version of this with a simpler fixed suspension, and maybe a Subaru engine and RWD instead, I’d be exceedingly interested. That’s what I want for a commute on Our Garbage Infrastructure (TM). Enclosed, air-conditioned cabin, compliant suspension with chunky tires, and a compact size.
This would be so fun on so many dirt roads.
No Android Auto? That’s it, I’m out…
“It’s called the LFG, and if you can work out what those letters stand for, you’ll appreciate how delightfully unsubtle everything about it is.”
Love for Gompers? No, it’s too expensive to align with the Labor Unions.
Live, Farting Gasbags? Nah, that’s just a crude version of Live Eat Pray.
Liberated from Goombas? This does look like something from Mario World.
Oh, this must be it: Lambent Fabulous Gadabouts!
How about “Lawsuit for Goobers”? WWE owns and trademarked that moniker (Legends and Future Greats) and theri lawyers are probably licking their chops in anticipation.
They do have a trademark on “LFG” as an abbreviation, but only for “Legends and Future Greats,” and it’s likely only enforceable for sports entertainment: https://www.trademarkia.com/search/trademarks?q=LFG+*&page=1&view=grid
I assumed it was for “Let’s F**king Go!” Maybe the joke is sailing over my head. Regardless, I love it. If only I was in the intended market/tax bracket
Let’s eFfing Go!
Looking For Group. SOW Plz.
Don’t get me wrong, I love this… but I would replace the headlights(/hood) immediately if I got one. What a weird face this thing has.
I wonder if bug-eyed round headlamps would be not only a great improvement but trademark infringement (Manx).
The real question is, “Is the top fully removeable, or at least targa?”
You know it’s a collab with Manx, right ?
Agreed. I get the callback to the Manx but these things look really tacked on and seems like crud could build up behind them. I’d rather they were flush.
I always wanted to put a Cayman GT4 motor in a Manx.
I just do not get this trend toward ultra conservative cars.
Seriously, yet another brightly colored dune buggy in an endless sea of dune buggies on their way to pick up Brayden and Jayden from soccer and do a couple of donuts around midfield before heading home for a microwaveable Stouffers lasagna and a glass of peyote.
Yes, this for sure.
Ha, I too “love experiences”, rich dude!
That is a bizarre statement, isn’t it? Isn’t everything an experience? For example, I am currently experiencing the soul-crushing weight of a thankless job that isn’t paying me nearly enough to afford one of these contraptions.
This is more interesting than your garden-variety supercar, though.
Experiences are what make life living. Live laugh love. Love the one you’re with.
glorious noise thanks to an Inconel exhaust system…
OK that’s just 100% stupid.
Design review meeting:
Project Manager: Why is the exhaust Inconel?
Designer: because it sounds cool!
PM: But it’s expensive and difficult to work with, and offers no benefits.
Designer: Sounds cool though..
Marketing to PM; Dude, no one cares what it costs, it sounds cool and rich people don’t know any better.
Thanks for this. I work with various Inconel alloys and couldn’t think of a reason to use it over more normal materials. I don’t think I’ve heard of using it for this application before.
lol Thank you for getting it! I mean, we use it (semiconductor) because of chemical resistance, but when it comes to an exhaust, Ti is about the best material, and it’s already difficult enough. but oh so pedestrian….
I believe I saw it used for uppipes in the Subaru aftermarket. I think it had something to do with heat retention which keeps the exhaust gasses moving fast.
Let’s F’in’ Go!
Way cool… but yeah, the dollar/fun ratio is probably pretty bad, considering you can find decent buggies for 6-12k.
Party on extremely rich people I suppose…
Didja ever stop to think about how the trend towards income disparity and the boom in ridiculously priced hypercars are positively correlated?
Perhaps a “relevance factor”, going down as price goes up, should be included in car reviews (like the way C&D or whoever try to objectify “fun to drive”).