Great Machines: Automobiles: Rock Roller
June 1, 2006
Jonathan Ward guns the throttle of his TLC Icon, provoking a
raspy, rude note from the 4x4’s throaty exhaust. BLAAAAAaaaaat! He shifts to
second gear, and the bellowing sound is nearly overwhelmed—but not quite—by the
wind rushing through the open cabin. “Some of our clients prefer to keep a low
profile, so we also offer a quieter exhaust,” Ward says. “But others get in, and
it’s yee-haw!” The Icon moves to the rumble of 350 hp and 400 ft lbs of torque
developed by its 5.7-liter V-8. Fat, knobby tires grip the pavement with an
easy, athletic grace as the Icon scrabbles over hot tarmac with the ease of the
reptile on its grille.
The Icon’s New School interior features industrial-strength fabrics,
billet aluminum control knobs, and the Cat diesel steering
wheel found
on high-end earthmovers. Toyota provides the steel hood, along
with the
windshield wipers. (Click images to enlarge) ; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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The Icon is something different for Ward’s company, TLC, which normally
specializes in the frame-up restoration of all years and varieties of
Land
Cruisers. “We saw the FJ as a platform that we could expand upon
and do so much
more with,” Ward explains. “There’s a vintage aesthetic,
but the customer still
wants modern drivability. They don’t want to
ever have to deal with a choke
cable, rare parts, drum brakes, or short
gearing. Original Cruisers, though
capable, were never built to address
modern use. As they age, their designs are
becoming more and more
archaic.”
The company first came to Toyota’s notice when it built a series of
trucks for the Universal film Dante’s Peak, and the Van Nuys, Calif.,
company
has been working with Toyota since 2000, when the Japanese
manufacturer began
planning what would become the new FJ Cruiser. TLC
built the first three driving
prototypes and is working on show-car
concept variations (read: a convertible),
as well as aftermarket
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Teflon-coated ATX wheels and the ARB bull bar in
the front, both part of the New School package, make the Icon the ultimate
off-roader. (Click image to enlarge)
With the Icon, TLC has made its first original production car. Although the
vehicle may look familiar—its design is based on the classic Toyota FJ Land
Cruisers of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s—the Icon is not in fact a Toyota, but
rather a product of Ward’s own creation. “Icon embodies how we look at the
truck,” he says. “We want to be clear that we’re not trying to replicate the
Land Cruiser. Our primary business is caring for them, restoring them, and
reengineering them. The Icon is something else. We really wanted the design to
stand on its own.” He also stresses that TLC’s experience building one-off show
cars for Toyota is applied directly to the Icon. “What we’ve tried to do is
create a prototype that you can take home,” he says. “And they’re handbuilt by
dedicated craftsmen from start to finish.”; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
The rear bumper, equipped with a Class II receiver, improves the
Icon’s departure angle and serves to isolate the spare tire from the
body. (Click image to enlarge)
The only FJ component incorporated in the Icon’s design is the frame, which
Ward used to maintain the FJ’s classic form, size, and relative scale. The Icon
rides on a 3.5-inch-longer wheelbase and the body itself is 7 inches longer than
the original; this not only enhances ride quality but also provides the space
for the rear leaf spring suspension from a 1990 Land Cruiser. Weight
distribution, Ward explains, is key. “The original was nose-heavy but light in
the rear. The gas tank was like a bomb under the passenger’s seat, so we changed
the entire floor design in order to move the gas tank to a safer location, where
it’s boxed by the frame and protected.”
Relocating the gas tank also created a flat floor, allowing both front seats to slide fore and aft, and to recline. Lower seat height improves outward visibility when compared to the old FJ. Though a nostalgic touch, the ubiquitous rear-facing jump seats did not make it into the Icon. "From a safety angle," says Ward, "they’re a disaster." All passengers have three-point belts, and the forward-facing rear bench seat—which is large enough for adults—tucks and tumbles forward for quick storage.
Toyota supplies the Icon’s steel hood, but TLC forms all of the high-grade aluminum body panels itself. A Teflon-polyester hybrid powder coat—both rugged and durable—covers the body and provides a hard-to-scratch finish ideal for off-road use. There is an optional aluminum hardtop, and the upper halves of the front doors have zip-out windows dating back to vintage trucks of the 1950s and ’60s.
TLC centered the rear differential, which is based on a Dana 60 design. The one-ton class rear axle is built for far heavier duty that the Icon will ever see, and the front axle is a Dana 44. There are vented and slotted disc brakes on all four wheels, but no traction control or antilock braking system because neither is very useful off-road.
The top-of-the-line fuel-injected engine comes from General Motors, and an available turbo-diesel variant will average around 30 mpg. Ward will soon unveil a gas electric hybrid engine—sans four-wheel-drive—as an environmentally friendly beach runabout.
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