Land Rover Defender + Corvette Engine = Awesome

The first time someone tried combining a sleek British roadster and an American V8, Carroll Shelby dominated the world and redefined what "fast" meant. Now, Icon just did the same thing to the Land Rover. Hold on to your butts, because this one's a doozy.

Icon basically took a perfectly fine Land Rover Defender, yanked just about everything but the sheet metal, and started from scratch so it would be "evolved for modern use." They built the whole thing, then tore it down to double check fitment, then rebuilt it with the knowledge that everything was perfect. The side vents are now functional as an air intake. The firewall was moved back several inches to fit the engine. And what an engine it is.

The good 'ole Chevy LS3. It's primary purpose is hauling cars like the Corvette, Chevy SS and Camaro SS up to warp speed, and for some reason it looks like it was designed to live in a British off-road machine. For good measure, Icon also got on the phone with some Land Rover specialists in England, told them what they were up to, and had the whole suspension literally re-engineered to reflect the new weight and power dynamic.

Amazingly, all that was relatively easy compared to the interior. As Icon owner Jonathan Ward puts it,  "British trucks aren't very square," which meant every single interior panel had to be hand-made, a task that would've been much easier if it wasn't all steel. The dashboard took an especially long time to make.

Despite the hard work, no detail was spared: even the seat belts have little clips welded into the frame to prevent them from clanging against the side when not in use.

click to play video

Check out this video for the full walk through.


Aaron Miller is the Rides editor for Supercompressor. He doesn't want to know how much this thing costs. He just wants to drive it for a day.