WANT: If I ever get a large hit from the money machine again, this is at the top of my vehicle shopping list.
Icon Derelict ’52 Chevy Business Coupe is unassuming masterpiece
Behold the latest from Icon, the Derelict – a 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe Business Coupe hiding a full arsenal of modern engineering beneath over half a century of patina.
The vehicle uses a complete powder-coated Art Morrison chassis with a front independent suspension and a four-link rear. An all-aluminum, fuel-injected 6.2-liter General Motors LS3 V8 sits between the frame rails and cranks out 430 horsepower. The engine is mated to a 4L65E automatic transmission and a full set of six-piston brakes with anti-lock control ensures that the whole party can come to a stop in a timely fashion. Despite looking like junkyard relics, the wheels are actually custom CNC-machined pieces shod in ZR-rated BF Goodrich rubber.
If the Coupe’s mechanicals and exterior aren’t enough to flip your switches, take a peek indoors. Both seats have been recovered in a combination of wild-caught alligator and buffalo hides(!) that have been dyed to the same Hermes hue as John F. Kennedy’s briefcase. The carpet is Rolls-Royce Wilton wool bound in buffalo as well, and an Aston Martin vintage mohair headliner finishes out the indoors. An array of tech is also tastefully hidden away as well, including Focal and Parrot audio components with Bluetooth capability.
This sort of execution is so far above and beyond the typical restomod and tuner fodder we typically see from the SEMA crowd that it serves as a breath of fresh air. If you like what you see, Icon says that the company can do the same for nearly any vehicle from the ’30s to the ’70s.
Gentlemen, start your imaginations.
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My first 4 wheel driving was on a 1950 chevy body removed down to motor, a 3 foot shortened frame, and farm implement seats (2). in essence, a go cart with 6 cylinders. fun times.
I first learned about Icon about six or seven years ago, and like you, Gerard, “if I ever get a large hit from the money machine,” I’ll be contracting with them to rebuild my fish car, a Robert Traver’s style beat up ’82 Jeep Grand Cherokee. She’s an ‘ol beat up machine, but still turns heads cause people can’t believe it’s still running down the road.
I’m not now, nor have I ever been a “Car Guy”, but I agree: With a big enough windfall from the Mega-Millions, once the kids’ and grandkids’ future comfort had been assured, I think I could be convinced to put something like that in my garage.
My only wish would be to live long enough to see which of the grandkids wanted it more.
Haven’t looked at the vid.
They made a 2 door fastback version that is murderous.
But I’m a truck dood so make mine an early 50’s 5 window and yep, spare tires on BOTH sides.
I like the shoeboxes but they were the beginning of the end.
I’d like to have a ’59 Porsche Speedster. In silver. With 12V electrics. Not gonna happen, but “a man can dream”.
As much as I love the resto-mod concept, I just can’t get behind the rat-rod look. Yeah, it might be fun to fool some kid in a stoplight gran prix, but I’m a shiny fenders guy. If I’m going to spend a fortune on a car as old as I am, it better show its years better than I show mine.
JWM
Cool coupe, but that guy’s vocal fry makes my throat hurt.
I love the car, love the interior, but I would rather have roll up windows and an original tube radio.
I learned how to drive with Mother’s ’51 Chevy. Now that was a CAR!
I learned to drive in a 1966 Olds F-85. 330 cube V-8 and Powerglide transmission.