In a previous interview, Jonathan Ward, CEO of ICON, said:
“The market needs brands with clarity of intent, and brands that aren’t afraid to not be for everyone; it’s not for everyone, that’s the point, that’s part of the fun. We’ll get some guys who will call and will be like “is it going to ride like my Lexus?”
Happily enough, I’ve had the chance to get an interview with the man himself. However, the www.icon4x4.com is teeming with intel on the trucks they build, for anyone to check out so i aimed for a few insights of what the ICON brand stands for, concepts and a bit of business. Really, for once, I tried to avoid car specification, speeds and mileages.
How did the company come to be? Has the team worked in truck building before?
JW: We founded our first brand, TLC, in 1994. TLC is focused on restoration, parts, sales and service for vintage Toyota Land Cruisers, and it continues to thrive in that niche. After we designed the prototype FJ Cruisers for Toyota, we began to realize the reverse engineering and manufacturing solutions to build an FJ our way. That was the impetus to start ICON.
How long have you been doing this?
JW: ICON is on it's fifth year in business.
Was it hard to find your place on the market, with such a customized vehicle?
JW: Actually, no. In the 4WD segment, this market did not even exist when we launched. However, with our TLC customer base, we had already established that there was a market for higher quality restoration and engineering than was traditionally applied to the market.
Tell me about your concept? What’s the story behind the FJ/Jeep choices? Why not make your own brand? As I understand, most of what’s under the bonnet is custom built anyway?
JW: The concept behind ICON is simple. Classic transportation designs, revisited in a modern context. Although a fresh design interests me, and may occur in the future, we find that by starting with designs already apart of people's history and culture is a huge benefit. Also, the designs have a longer shelf life that way. If we design a new vehicle entirely, we have to get it into the hearts and minds of consumers, and then the market would demand a constant update or evolving design... slippery slope.
Do you have an official race team that features ICONs in rally raids, challenges or rock crawling?
JW: No, although many of our clients use them in harsh environments world-wide and are often spotted at all the famous US off-road challenges and events. We would love to have a race team but budget does not allow it, given our extreme low volume.
Everything about the cars can be found on your website which, by the way, is one of the most accessible I’ve seen car-wise. How are the sales coming along?
JW: I used to publish pricing, but it was our customers who requested that we did not. As a big part of ICON is to allow the client to blend in with a locale or environment, low-profile pricing is a part of that. Sales are very strong. We are moving to company to a larger facility to allow us to double our output. Right now, we are running an eight months backlog. Although for some clients, having a bespoke vehicle built to order is engaging, many lack the patience and we wish to appeal to those sort of clients as well. We may build some on spec, given our increased capacities, but thus far even those get pre-sold and built for a specific client. That is reaffirming, but I am still keen to build some and have them ready for immediate purchase.
What projects are you working on, excepting the ICONs? Is the garage where everything ICON happens, engaged in other activities - buggy building, custom mods?
JW: We will debut our ICON Bronco on the FORD booth at SEMA, and in the press in Q4. That will be our next production model. Outside of our production models, we offer a series of one-off cars that fall into two categories; The Derelicts, and The Reformers.
The Derelicts run as-found cosmetics on the exterior, custom vintage themed interiors (often with rare and exotic hides or textiles), and hide modern chassis with current generation drive train (and emissions systems), ABS 4WDB, A/C, soundproofing, Bluetooth, modern audio etc... .
The Reformers are restored to concours original condition, and then hide modern chassis systems and details as well. Below are some images of a recent Reformer project, a 1951 Willys Jeepster. As you know, we are doing a Reformer Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato convertible right now, along with a Derelict 1952 Chevy and a Reformer 1964 D100 Dodge Crew Cab Pick Up Reformer. Fun projects. Novel in style and functionality. We also consult various OEM's and do design packages for branded vehicles for marketing (Red Bull, J Crew, Jimmy John's...).
Last but not least, I keep hearing that ICON plans on introducing hybrid engines in the trucks. How about it?
JW: The reality is that our hybrid plans are on hold. We await the right partner with the right technologies. I suspect that in wheel hub motor technology with a diesel generator would be ideal. We have been tempted a few times, but have not found the right equation yet. We have had some preliminary discussions with GM about possibly applying a 400 torque output retuned versions of the Volt drive train, but nothing more exploratory so far.
For more info visit: www.icon4x4.com
Radu Tudoroiu
Radu Tudoroiu is a photographer and an editor for 4x4 Off Roads and other publications as well as an off-road enthusiast. Radu lives in Romania.
