Icon FJ43 Bandeirante reimagines a timeless classic

Icon is best known for its FJ Toyota Land Cruiser restomod, but the California company is showcasing another impressive build based on the legendary Toyota off-roader.

Called the FJ43 Bandeirante, the vehicle is actually one of Icon's earliest productions and is based on a model that is rare on American roads. Icon built this vehicle for a client over 20 years ago and recently reacquired it.

As the name implies, the FJ43 Bandeirante uses the body of the Toyota Bandeirante, a unique version of the Land Cruiser built exclusively for the Brazilian market from 1968 to 2001. Icon founder and lead designer Jonathan Ward was able to obtain several Bandeirante bodies after working with Toyota in the early 2000s.

The FJ43 Bandeirante stretches the chassis of the 1965 FJ40. It also uses the 1983 FJ40 dash, but has been modified to match the rare US-spec dash offered that year.

The Toyota engine is not under the hood. For this project vehicle, ICON used a 5.7-liter V-8 engine procured from General Motors. This engine was paired with a Toyota H-55 5-speed manual transmission, a split case, and a 19-spline transfer case.

ICON has no plans to sell the FJ43 Bandeirante, but the company can build the FJ40 or FJ43 for customers, with prices starting at $195,000 and $202,000 respectively. ICON's website has an online configurator that allows potential buyers to choose the ideal configuration for all of ICON's current project vehicles, not just the FJ.