The ICON is where 21^st-century technology meets Sixties styling to become utilitarian chic worthy of a $100,000 price tag. Based on the FJ40 series Toyota Land Cruiser, the Icon is a reinvention of a classic 4x4.

Based in Van Nuys, California, TLC is a high-profile vehicle restorer and parts supplier specializing in keeping older Land Cruisers on the road. Boss Jonathan Ward’s passion for old Land Cruisers was inspired by TV prorammes he’d seen as a kid, yet he wasn't even born when the first FJ was launched in 1960. Nevertheless, it was Ward’s desire to create the ultimate Land Cruiser that would turn his ideas and design sketches into a product that has become coveted by the rich and famous.

When dreaming up a wish-list specification, it soon became apparent that this wasn't going to be a cheap exercise. The TLC team agreed that there would be no compromises in achieving their goal, no matter how many noughts ended up on the final bill. However, rather than go the lazy route and create a tasteless “ghetto fabulous” ride, they built something truly unique while staying true to the spirit of the original FJ Land Cruiser.

CLASSICS REBORN

A line of ageing Land Cruisers outside the TLC workshop provides the donor vehicles for the Icon. Each original chassis is used so that the vehicle can keep its original title and satisfy the California authorities. Once the donor vehicle is stripped bare, the chassis is placed on a jig and has its wheelbase stretched. Wheelbases are extended to offer a better ride, increase interior space, and improve handling, but also to accommodate additional safety features and mounts for the new driveline that forms one of the fundamental changes from the original Toyota specification.

            When choosing the spec for their Icon, customers work through a menu-style options list. Top of that menu is a choice of engines that reads like a wish list for any off-road enthusiasts. Powerplants are by GM and use the same small block Chevy V8 found in a Corvette. That means a 350bhp 5.3-litre V8 with the option of a 5.7 430bhp stroked unit. Establishing its green credentials, TLC even offers a diesel option in the shape of an International four cylinder 2.8-litre turbocharged unit that has its roots in the 2.5-litre 300Tdi engine found in older Land Rover Discoverys and Defenders. Seen as the hot rod version of the 300 Tdi, the Brazilian-built 2.8 International units offers an increase in power and torque compared to the Land Rover engine, plus smoother running and the added benefit of being able to run on biodiesel. TLC is even working on a hybrid technology to power a future version of the Icon.

            The Icon’s gearbox is a heavy duty NV4500 five-speed manual typically found in GM and Dodge trucks. An auto box is an option. Behind your choice of gearbox is an Atlas II Transfer Case, which as any self-respecting fourwheeler will tell you, is the transfer case that rates sub-zero on the cool wall of T-cases. The ultimate in four wheel drive control, the Atlas unit is available with super-low crawl ratios and will even let you operate front and rear axles independently.

            Completing the truck builder’s porn specification is a pair of Dynatrac axles featuring a Dana 44 differential in the front and a Dana 60 in the rear. ARB lockers are an optional extra.

            The Dynatrac axles are hung on Old Man Emu leaf springs. OME shocks with modified spring hangars provide increased ride height as well as improved clearance off-road. Brakes are vented and drilled discs all around. Propshafts are custom made with super tough universal joints and exhausts are stainless steel. Power steering is controlled by a NASCAR pump. Any fluids travel through Teflon coated stainless steel hoses and even the wiring loom gets the Icon treatment with vermin-proof and waterproof connections. Crucially, all of the driveline components are sourced through third-party suppliers so should you have a problem, rest assured any replacements are available off the shelf.

            With its no-expense-spared specification and a portfolio of no-expense-spared customers who, research has shown, will typically store their Icon with the seven or eight other cars in their garage. TLC’s refusal to pander to bling culture is to be admired. It would have been easy for Ward and the TLC team to throw a wheelbarrow-full of diamonds at the Icon, park it outside some rappers crib with a $500,000 price ticket and a sign in the window saying ‘Buy Me!’ That strategy probably would have worked, but that would be missing the point.

            You either get the Icon or you don't. When one perspective customer rang TLC wanting his Icon fitted with much larger tyres than the rather modest BFG offerings that come as standard, Ward was happy to turn down a $100K+ sale in order to preserve the Icon’s integrity. The Icon is all about understated elegance; it’s not trying to be showy or glitzy. Rather than crocodile-skin seats stuffed with ostrich feathers, you get heated seats covered in water-proof marine-grade vinyl. The material for the hood is the same stuff Mercedes uses on its top-end convertibles and the sun visors are the same polarized items you’ll find in a Lear jet.

            Jonathan Ward took time out from putting the finishing touches on the latest Icon- bound for a private 22,000-acre ranch near Yellowstone National Park – to point out some other stealth-like details. Ward hates the acres of interior plastic that cheapen Range Rover ownership, so one thing the Icon experience had to be was tactile. The aluminum eyeball HVAC vents on the dash are sourced from aircraft and have a weighty feel, so you know they will last forever. The Icon’s stereo speakers are marine-grade and the retro headlamp dip-switch on the floor is rated for submersible applications. The instruments and switches mimic the Toyota originals, but are custom-made with LED lighting. The switches themselves are machined out of billet aluminum and then hand enameled by Ward himself. In researching a steering wheel worthy of the Icon and everything it stands for, Ward’s quest for the best ended with the wheel from a CAT earthmover. Not bling, not pretty, just tough.

POWDER PROCESS

The alloy body panels are new pressings and are covered in a special mix of powder coat that TLC helped develop in conjunction with a major coating manufacturer. Ward professes a hatred of traditional painting methods, describing it as a ‘nasty process’, so in the search for a tougher and greener solution TLC came up with a powder mix made from bio-soya polymers that offers greater resilience to knocks than traditional paint finishes.

            Besides the obvious practical and ‘green’ advantages of this finish, the textured, crinkled feel of this surface coating covering the panels, chassis and components reinforces the Icons strength by inviting you to run your hands over it.  What it’s it like to keep clean? I guess if you can afford an Icon, washing your car isn’t something you worry about. With a six-month build time and production running at about 25 per year, exclusivity is assured. Nevertheless, TLC already has a half-filled order book for 2008. Bob Seger has one and so does Tom Hanks. The boss of Toyota has one and US chat show legend David Letterman (or plain ‘Dave’ if you are Jonathan Ward) has eight!

            With the Icon’s niche in the luxury marketplace now firmly established, Ward’s vision for the future extends beyond his beloved Toyotas, with classis 4x4s such as the Ford Bronco, Jeep CJ’s and Land Rover Defender being eyed up as candidates for the Icon treatment. With a perfect location a stone’s throw from Hollywood and Beverly Hills, it’s a vision you can see working.

            However, Ward’s feet remain firmly on the workshop floor. Movie-star endorsements are nice, as is the million-dollar order book, but for Ward, the real reward for his efforts came the day a guy called Johnny Ive walked in and placed an order. Johnny Ive  is a man who knows all about style and design. He’s the man responsible for designing the iPod. When the creator of one icon writes out a cheque for another Icon, that’s about as good an accolade as you can get.

Written by Kevin Baldwin for 4X4 Magazine

5/2008