Entrepreneur offers modern takes on classic shapes

Say you inherited a small potentate, or won a couple of lotteries at once, and bought your own large island. In addition to assembling concubines, libations and ammo, you’d need transportation for when you wnet out to be admired by your people. May we suggest a sizeable squadron of Icon FJs and CJs.

            Cost will be no object, since you’ll be printing your own money, so the $105,000 starting point of the FJs (CJs are only $78,000+) will not be a problem. The sun visors, for instance, are from the OE supplier to Learjet-the jet maker, not the seat maker, and cost $400.

            But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, who or what is Icon? It started out with entrepreneur, designer and Energizer bunny Jonathan ward, who found that he liked the character of old cars and trucks but didn’t like their reliability and efficiency. He figured there were others out there like him willing to pay for old-school character matched with new-school reliability and engineering.

            His first venture, still going strong, is TLC, as in Toyota Land Cruiser. TLC beautifully restores old Land Cruisers and FJs for the discriminating four-wheeler. Its reputation is high among moneyed wheelers and its work is spotless.

            But Ward wanted more. He wanted to make his own FJ. Our federal government has much to say on that topic, and meeting all federal standards for everything you’d have to do would make Ward’s FJs cost more than a Learjet.

            So he starts with a fully documented existing vehicle and builds and shapes his creations around that, with help from some of the best suppliers in the business. The ladder frame and control arms for the FJ suspension, for example, come from famed hot rod frame maker Art Morrison. The aluminum body is made by a pontoon boat manufacturer in Vancouver. Axles come from Dynatrac. The wiring harness is from Painless Performance. The steering column comes from Ididit, and the rest of the steering comes from Lee.

            “Other than that, it’s all us”, said Ward.

            The result looks like a vintage FJ or CJ tribute, but with subtle modern design cues. It could fit in perfectly anywhere in the first through third worlds. But most go to Sun Valley, Nantucket or the Hamptons.

            We drove three of Ward’s creations, two FJ variants, and a Jeep CJ takeoff called the CJ3B. In the FJs, power comes from a 350 hp 5.3-liter LS-generation aluminum V8 mated to an Aisin Warner AX15 five speed transmission. An Atlas II transfer case sends torque front and rear.

            A 210 hp GM EcoTec four powers the smaller CJ3B, routing torque through a five speed AX15 and an NP231 transfer case. There are other powertrain options, including diesels. You can see more choices at www.icon4x4.com.

            We had a great time wheeling in the Texas Canyon section of the Rowher Flats OHV area near Santa Clarita, California, in the middle of the week when it was pretty empty. We did donuts and crawled up the steepest trails with ease. One the freeway to and from the dirt, the ride felt stiff, but with all of the customization available from Icon, you can have it tuned to your use and preference.

            It is a level of design customization that the majority of four-wheelers won’t be able to afford, for work they probably would prefer to do themselves. But buyers aren’t the vast majority of the traditional wheelers.

            “It’s obvious this kind of product isn’t for everyone”, Ward said. “That’s somewhat part of its charm. The buyer is someone who wants it to drive on that property he has, but doesn’t want to be messing with it on the weekends.”

            Icon is crafting it’s take on the Ford Bronco, one of which will be shown at SEMA this fall. There is even an Aston Martin project in the works, a one-off customer car based on the design of the original DB4 GT Zagato.

            ICON 4x4 is a modern take on the coachbuilders of yore, with today’s reliability wrapped in a classic design. If only we printed our own money…

Written by Mark Vaughn for Autoweek May 2011