By Ross Ballot
In the world of boutique, restored sports cars, Singer is the name-of-names. The ultra high-end company “reimagines” Porsche 911s and makes them better than they ever were. Another company that dabbles in the same field is ICON. Jonathan Ward of TLC– Toyota Land Cruisers– branched off and created ICON 4×4, a company that specializes in off-roaders (though they do churn out other projects as well). Much in the vein of Singer, ICON brings an extraordinary level of craftsmanship to the table and builds vehicles that are incredibly well designed and executed. They are, for lack of a better phrase, the ultimate examples of what the bones on which the trucks’ are based can become.
One such vehicle is this 1972 FJ43 that’s for sale on Craigslist. It’s a two-door, long-wheelbase model which likely started its second chance at life as a somewhat forgotten truck. Now it’s been given new blood from Ward and his team. It boasts 5.3L GM V8, Dynatrac axles, air conditioning, and a slew of off-road equipment. But, as is always the case with an ICON vehicle, the stats and build sheet don’t sell the vehicle: the details and craftsmanship do. Take a look for yourself, and, if you have the $158,900 to spend, give this gorgeous rig a good home.
Jeff Glucker
…if you have the $158,900 to spend, give this gorgeous rig a good home
When you write for Billionaires and Hooniverse and click the wrong publish button.
This is one gorgeous rig though. Every grain of desert dust will shave off 30 cents of value?
I think if I had $160k for a used Icon FJ, I would probably also have enough to go to Icon and have Ward build one to my specifications. And why a 5.3 instead of, say, a 6.0 with the same external dimensions?
That’s funny, because I read the same thing and thought, “Finally, someone smart enough to go with the 5.3 instead of the 6.2.” The 5.3L V8, which is standard in the 2000-lb-heavier Chevy Tahoe, is plenty for the FJ. Off-roading is about useable torque, not excessive horsepower.
I get it, it’s nice and all. But $160K for an old Land Cruiser is stupid. There are any number of other vehicles (already with AC) that are far more capable on and off road than this for 1/10 the money. I commend Mr. Ward for figuring out a way to separate people from their money using nostalgia, I will just never understand it. I’d rather just build it myself. It’d be better anyway.
Amen, brother.
But is it ‘desert rated’?
No, no, it’s dessert rated, with those wipe clean floors.
Very well done, as always with Icon, but I’m with the peanut gallery. A new Wrangler will just do everything better, apart from show people how you appreciate The Finer Things.
Is this better than a loaded new Wrangler unlimited plus 5 other $20K vehicles? A new Wrangler Unlimited, a new C8 Corvette and a new Miata?
It’s beautiful, but the mind boggles at spending that much on one vehicle.