ICON Previews SEMA-Bound D200 Pickup
As I was perusing the autoblogosphere this afternoon, a photo caught my eye – yes, it’s the photo at the top of this article. To me, there are few things that are more awesome than marrying a brand new, classic body to a modern chassis and mechanicals. And there are few companies that are better at this than ICON. The company already produces very faithful reproductions of the original Ford Bronco, Jeep CJ, and Toyota FJ.
The company’s latest creation will be shown at SEMA in a few days. It’s a re-creation of a 1965 model-year Dodge D-series pickup, which itself was the second generation of the Dodge D-series.
Aside from the removal (obviously) of all Chrysler-owned trademarks (including the Dodge name and the grille/front end design, the truck appears to be an incredibly faithful reproduction of the original. At least, that’s the case before you crawl underneath it or pop the hood. Or open the door, for that matter.
ICON’s D200 boasts a modern RAM 3500 chassis, including a 5.9 liter Cummins inline-six turbodiesel. Not content with the engine’s stock output, ICON partnered with the turbodiesel specialists at Banks to bump its output to 975 lb-ft. (Why not go for an even k of torque, Banks?)
Inside, there’s a cool blend of retro and modern. You’d pay a ton of money for this truck, so the interior surpasses 1965 standards with leather seats (made from certified free-range cattle), nicely-plated handles, modern instrumentation, and more.
ICON seems to artfully blend the old and new with its products. This one is a restored 1965 truck (at least its body is!), and ICON’s BR series (Broncos) are built from nice-condition originals with some certified restoration parts thrown in. However, the CJ and FJ are built with brand new bodies (the CJ’s is steel, and the FJ’s is aluminum), which sort of changes the character of the build in my opinion.
Surely these hand-crafted restorations/custom builds don’t come cheaply. While the Bronco started at just $2,194 back in 1966, ICON’s BR series starts at around $150,000. I’d expect a heck of a premium over that figure should the D200 ever reach production. After all, the Cummins option alone adds about $8,000 to the price of a new RAM 3500. I’m not sure where ICON would find a donor chassis for the D200, but if it’s buying new trucks and discarding their bodies, that’s a pretty expensive start to a project that will get even more expensive.
But as I said in the beginning, there’s something that a “new” old car has that neither a true old car nor a tribute (like the New Beetle, PT Cruiser, 2002 Thunderbird, or current FJ Cruiser) could never hope to capture. So if you’re a rich fan of amazing off road hardware that you’re unlikely to see almost anywhere you go, look into an ICON. The rest of us will just have to enjoy pictures.
