Cars

A Vintage Car Guru Releases an Engine-Inspired Watch

Jonathan Ward has been restoring classic SUVs for more than 20 years, but his first timepiece may be his most beautiful design to date.

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By Hannah Elliott

September 5, 2017 at 9:00 AM UTC

For more than 20 years, Jonathan Ward has been restoring and customizing classic SUVs at his shop in Los Angeles. The gifted designer is known for his $200,000 Ford Broncos that reference the 1970s, but he started out in 1996 upgrading Toyota Land Cruisers. Then, after his first update of a Toyota FJ Cruiser in 2007, he founded Icon, where he has been selling six-figure, restored vintage truck and jeeps ever since.

Ward’s attention to detail on the rigs is legendary: His hand-built Broncos, for instance, use a stock Ford 5.0-liter V8 engine, stainless-steel door hinges taken from industrial freezers, Bell & Ross-inspired dashboard gauges, LED headlamps, skyscraper-grade windows, Learjet sun-visors, and laser-cut steel plates. The interior lining material is military-grade fabric.