ICON 4x4: Redefining Classic Cars with Aerospace Engineering

The Evolution of ICON 4x4

• 💡 Founded as TLC in 1996, the company initially focused on restoring classic Toyota Land Cruisers to factory-correct condition.
• 🚀 Jonathan Ward, the founder, later evolved the vision into ICON 4x4, blending classic aesthetics with modern engineering, durability, and performance.
• 🎯 ICON now builds a wide range of vehicles, including trucks, coupes, sedans, and wagons, based on client ideas and their uncompromising standards.

Craftsmanship and Engineering Philosophy

• 🛠️ ICON takes original, often dilapidated, vintage vehicles and mounts them onto modern chassis, using aerospace, marine, and military-grade components.
• 🧠 The company meticulously scans original bodies, staying true to dimensions, but engineers floorboard layouts, weight distribution, and electronics from scratch.
• ⚙️ They utilize a structural section of the firewall, pedal bucket, and sometimes the front bib structure as the only original components, with even less from Bronco builds.
• 🌟 For classic Chevy pickups (1947-1953), they prioritize original paint and farm trucks, building from them due to the poor quality of aftermarket bodies.

Innovative Construction and Materials

• 🏗️ ICON bodies, like the FJ40, are now made from aluminum (50-52H32) by a shipwright in Canada, offering greater design freedom and eliminating rust issues.
• 💡 Redesigned trans tunnels, reshaped dashes for modern HVAC, and redistributed weight enhance the driving experience and aesthetics.
• 🚀 Modifications include adjusting wheelbase for better aesthetics and full suspension travel, moving away from the poor ride quality of original leaf springs.
• 🧩 They often make their own bumpers and components because they cannot find the desired quality and design in the aftermarket.

Addressing Reproduction Part Quality

• ⚠️ ICON addresses the issue of modern reproduction parts not holding up by using aerospace, marine, and military-grade components.
• 🔍 They make their own brakes, clutches, and radiators because they were not satisfied with the status of available aftermarket parts.
• 🔧 Even simple components like sun visors are sourced from military jets for superior quality and design, removing the constraint of price point.

Client Collaboration and Customization

• 🤝 Clients engage through website configurators, visualizing options before submitting for a quote, with the process requiring clients to not be deterred by the price.
• 🎨 Customization extends to interior materials, such as Connelly leather and Hard Garden carpets, and wood finishes, often incorporating client preferences and personality.
• 🗺️ Vehicles are built to be daily drivable, encouraging clients to use them for adventures rather than as static art pieces.

The ICON Build Process and Quality Control

• ✅ ICON puts 400-900 miles on every unit for rigorous quality control, involving multiple team members and departments.
• 📦 The build process is highly efficient, with internal software managing purchase orders and inventory, and parts organized by model and assembly order.
• 🌟 Chassis are powder-coated with a durable, undersea pipeline coating, followed by a color coat for long-lasting fit and finish.
• 🚗 Partnerships with companies like Art Morrison Enterprises for chassis and Brembo for brakes ensure world-class components, with custom valving for ICON vehicles.

Future and Brand Vision

• 🚀 ICON is exploring new variants and potentially building vehicles on spec with an "omakase" program to reduce wait times.
• 💡 The brand's iconography, the California bluebelly lizard, symbolizes scrappiness and adaptability, reflecting the company's ethos.
• 📈 ICON aims to increase production volume while maintaining quality, driven by talent, space, and capital, and is excited about the future of the automotive market's demand for visceral, emotional vehicles.