Icon 4×4 recently announced a milestone by unveiling the 500th edition of the company’s Toyota Land Cruiser. A new school edition that debuted as a 1964 FJ44, the truck now sports a layer of Rocky Mountain Grey dust on 5/32-inch aluminum frame panels, a Modern 6. 2-liter V8 mated to a five-speed manual transmission, Currie axles, Warn manual-locking front hubs, and a redesigned interior highlighted with Pepita styling.
In typical Icon style, this new FJ necessarily adds all the modern conveniences with a combination of antique and vintage styling. I visited Icon’s headquarters in Chatsworth, California, shortly after finishing the structure to take the new restomod for a spin, with its founder, designer, engineer, and general revitalizer Jonathan Ward in the passenger seat to emphasize all of the van’s immaculate main points.
Having driven many off-road vehicles, from new Ford Raptors to vintage Jeeps and everything in between, I knew I expected something even more special from Icon. I also experienced one of Ward’s so-called “abandoned” builds, which There’s nothing yet: that, from a distance, looks like a worn-out Chevrolet 3100 pickup truck, but underneath the skin there’s a traditional curved frame with independent suspension throughout, plus a V8 and manual gearbox that allow it to perform more like a trendy sports car.
The FJ maintains strong front and rear axles, with each and every suspension component upgraded, adding a set of Fox racing shocks in all 4 corners. Shifting gears with the clutch pedal and gear selector only requires a moment’s acclimatization to be fully The bifurcated feel of bifurcated verticality typical of older cars with forged axles never goes away, but the minimal frame roll and abundant transmission power mean that pretty soon I start pushing myself harder. and stronger in the cobbled corners, achieving more and more speed than I ever imagined possible.
Meanwhile, just like in this discontinued Chevrolet, the smallest details of this FJ make big differences, especially for anyone who focuses on the tactile textures that make so many modern cars surely intolerable. Instead of piano black plastics and artificial brushed aluminum, Ward chooses the kind of fabrics that offer weighted consistency, from the marbled steering wheel to the crisp climate control knobs and durable sprint trims. Lizard patterns dot the interior and exterior of the FJ, and a small light even illuminates the sprintboard from below without appearing in the passengers’ eyes. eyes. Perhaps the most impressive detail is sometimes overlooked: the complete absence of creaks, rattles, or thuds that require many hours of diligent checks to correct.
Throughout our journey, as I try to make sense of the countless hours and ingenuity that go into creating such a unified vision, Ward and I talked about any and all topics imaginable: sustainable fashion, the crisis of trendy residential architectural design, dirt. bikes, police education tactics, and the overall state of the rapidly expanding restomod industry, see who arguably made the beginning. Amid the roar of the V8 and our in-depth conversation, the narrative of Ward’s fondness for Toyota Land Cruisers begins to take shape.
“I love to travel,” he says repeatedly, “and in some of the more remote places, Land Cruisers were the only thing other people could depend on, because it was life and death, other people had good reputations. “
Back in the U. S. , while taking a business class, Ward made a bet with his peers that he could find an express market to manipulate by artificially causing shortages.
“I buy the most productive cruises I can find,” he says with a laugh. “I have to overlook the fun trips, which I love to take anyway, to Arizona, Flagstaff, Truckee and New Mexico, everywhere. the world. I would just buy the most productive ones I can find.
Under the hood is a 6. 2-liter V8 mated to a five-speed transmission and dual-lever four-wheel drive.
Although his peers eventually gave up paying after Ward’s efforts obviously affected the costs used for the small Land Cruiser population of the western United States, he eventually gathered a dozen trucks parked in front of his house. Then a garage wall had to give way to make room and through it all, he began the fascinating procedure of complete restoration, what he calls “doing it the right way. “But despite the Land Cruisers’ physical presence, Ward soon learned that he had never enjoyed the actual experience of driving.
“Every time I made one, adding our beloved five windows, I thought, ‘This sucks, the handling just sucks,'” he readily admits. “I’m very committed to the vibe, taste and language of design. But I’ve never had much appreciation or patience for the mechanical delight of the archaic martyrdom of the classics.
To appease the neighbors, many of whom he ended up helping with maintenance work to distract themselves from the growing population of Toyota trucks encroaching on the neighborhood, Ward eventually took over the lease of a building in Van Nuys on Oxnard Street at the former site of Cars with Class. With only a sign on the door and a Motorola “landline,” the store began to attract attention.
“Almost instantly we knew there was a market,” he says. “And one of the first trucks we sold we traded for a website. “
Ward minimizes the use of plastics in each and every Icon structure to achieve a sense of substantiality at each and every touchpoint.
Here, a bit of luck enters the story, although, as usual, luck still required some difficult work to come to fruition. An early online presence, adding a complex vehicle configurator for the time, began to introduce TLC (as in “Toyota Land Cruiser”). fleet of Toyota painters and a possible offer to Ward to help expand a new successor to the FJ, which would eventually move into mass production, known as the FJ Cruiser.
Now, nearly two decades later, Ward estimates he’s built around 800 FJs, from foundational restorations to full Icon restorations, but the actual number he or his craftsmen have touched in some way is probably four figures. However, the transition from TLC to Icon was a leap of faith, once he accepted that only a larger company could solve the challenge of revitalizing the driving dynamics of a traditional truck.
“How can I use the generation and leverage it to execute my concept now?”Ward remembers wondering, “So I built the first one. Then when I came back and added up all the profits and what it cost to build, I panicked. “What am I going to do? No one will spend that much. ” Don’t I build the frame out of aluminum?Do I want to put drum brakes on the rear? Do I cut this corner, do I cut this corner. . . ‘And I can’t, because then I’ll lose my passion. I’ll lose interest and then it will become genuine work.
With a first visitor awaiting Icon’s first true FJ restomod, Ward continued to expand and refine the set, and later expanded his paints to Ford Broncos as well. News continued about Icon’s almost obsessive attention to detail, from technical prowess to sophisticated styling extensions. spread, but as temporarily as the attendant value tags, which attracted much negativity to the nascent online automotive network paints. Fortunately, a clever bite of the net paintings also identified something positive when they saw it, which helped Ward stay out of the drama. in the comment forums.
Inside, the 500e Icon looks (and smells) exactly like a new vehicle.
“The first noticeable transition happened when enough people knew the name of the logo,” Ward says proudly. “They knew what we stand for, who we are and why we are different. Then they’d take down the trolls and maybe I’d shut down. “and not communicate it personally.
Today, Icon’s prestige as a leading bookcode for any type of vehicle — not just the Toyotas and Broncos that helped identify that early reputation — means Ward can do even more on the artistic side. More than 99% of Icon’s builds start with visitor orders. However, the 500e occupies a special position in the range.
“I introduced this one, sort of an old spec that most people like,” Ward admits. “Everything you see in the store is a commission that’s pre-sold and built for that customer, which is notoriously better in terms of cash flow. But I also think it’s wonderful for the Jstomers because they can express with every little detail what they want. I think more and more, fashionable Jstomers don’t have that attention span anymore. They say, “But I have the money, why am I waiting?”
Business progression is secondary for Ward and Icon, away from focusing on projects where engineering meets craftsmanship.
“A lot of the business is driven by my loves and passions,” he says. “If it was purely capitalist, yes, I left California years ago, we’d have to be 10 times our volume. But you stand your ground under my run or move slowly under this chassis or fix your tail on the donkey’s headband, wherever your finger lands, I can laugh at this little thing.
Almost all other versions of Icon start by working with consumers to specify the best combination of functionality and style.
In the midst of a booming restaurant industry, thanks to the popularity of Icon and, to some extent, the Porsche 911 reimagined through Singer Vehicles, an impressive new project with a new vehicle comes out of nowhere in almost every case. every week. However, it remains a mystery whether those cars offer substance and flavor. Still, I asked Ward what the next step would be for Icon, to help him stay ahead of the curve while proceeding to foster the artistic act that he clearly aspires to. A radical Volkswagen Beetle or a Porsche 356 entered the conversation, but so did a new edition of the Toyota series and Bronco FJ, which he temporarily dubbed the “Townie”.
“I have a concept for the Broncos and the FJs with independent front suspension that I’m thinking about producing,” Ward revealed. “It’s for a user who needs one that has more to do with access to the fishing spot, camping, going down the snowy driveway, soft off-road access, but also use. They’re not creepy, they don’t want low frequencies, they just love the character, vibe, and style.
An old truck with Icon’s stylish touches, fashionable strength and convenience, and the incredible improvement in ride quality and guide geometry of the independent front suspension looks incredible, even if something about the concept of crawling around in an Icon-built solid-axle FJ also sparks up. . imagination very well. Of course, in the meantime the electric revolution has also appeared.
While most consumers never drive an off-road Icon, everyone can take care of all 4 wheels without a problem.
“We’re already building a natural electric prototype with all-wheel drive,” Ward told me. “If we’re satisfied with it, we’ll do it on all three production models. “
That “if” will be italicized and maybe even bold, as Ward agreed with my serious misgivings about the total uproar over the conversion of EVs to the aftermarket, largely from a protection perspective. Recognising its role as an industry leader means Icon has to do its job right, adding the safe management of battery cells and electrical charging.
Although a media crusade with a reporter resulted in a verbal exchange that lasted several hours, this is rarely the leadership style Ward needs Icon to adopt: He hopes to blatantly remove his own call from Icon’s presence and simply focus on the culmination. of hard work (something I personally doubt is possible, but a man can dream). Meanwhile, at Icon HQ, it’s all hard work and head down, proceeding to consistently produce some of the most productive restomods ever built.