Icon DeSoto Derelict Is A One-Off, High-Functioning Sculpture for the Discerning

Don’t judge a book by its cover and all that. The Icon DeSoto Derelict is the kind of custom build that lends itself to a variety of cliches, all of them nonetheless true. It is also the first in a line of custom builds that has turned Icon 4x4 from a family-run business in Los Angeles, California, into a respectable custom builder.

The DeSoto Derelict was officially unveiled in 2011, but the project goes at least several years back. It started when Icon founder and CEO Jonathan Ward started thinking about turning a ‘52 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon into his daily driver. Today, the Derelict line (and the Reformer one, too) stands for a unique type of retro-modernism, but back then, Ward wasn’t thinking about that with this particular vehicle. He simply wanted a car he did not have to worry about, at least as far as the exterior went.

The DeSoto Derelict is a ‘51 DeSoto in the front and a ‘52 Chrysler in the back. Inside, it’s basically a brand new but still relatively period-accurate Chrysler, while the heart is that of a Dodge Challenger SRT. In a very recent interview, Ward says that Icon makes two types of custom builds: crazy fast and insanely crazy fast, with no middle way.

For this one, he took out the Chrysler Hemi V8 engine and replaced it with a 6.1-liter SRT Hemi V8 with 425 hp. One year after the official unveil, Jay Leno took the first Derelict out for a spin and was profoundly impressed by how it drove like a modern car, despite being this arguably ugly, massive, old piece of junk.

And that’s the gist about this DeSoto and the Derelict line in general: they’re what some might call ugly, battered cars fit for one last trip to the junkyard. They’re covered in rust and are missing parts, they’re scratched and dented, and patina has replaced the actual paint in most places. The interiors are period-accurate and deliberately worn, too, but they’re also modern in terms of specs, even though you might not be able to tell.

The DeSoto wagon, for instance, has hidden AC and heat, a hidden Bluetooth-dependent four-speaker (plus amp and bass) audio system, and a modern wiper system. Aside from these modern touches, everything else has been kept deliberately stock, except for the carpet, which is original Rolls-Royce wool carpet. The headliner is stock reproduction, and restored stock wood from the original panels was used inside. The gauges were repurposed for new functionality, but without being restored.

Ward says this project was done with a sense of humor, so even if he describes the build as a “holistic” and “singular high-functioning sculpture,” he doesn’t come across as pretentious. His sense of humor is materialized in small touches like the Icon lizard on the hood, the 1800s whiskey bottle used as radiator overflow, and the WWII ambulance siren used for the horn to “clear a lane in a hurry!.” The DeSoto hood ornament is also illuminated to give it a more menacing air at night.

Of course, the very existence of the DeSoto Derelict is a sign of Ward’s sense of humor, as he remarked himself on a number of occasions. It’s the kind of car that gets nasty looks in traffic, that gets people wondering how come it doesn’t fall apart and asking Ward why he would waste his time on it. At the same time, it’s a build that makes sense for the discerning eye, and proof of that is in the way it launched the Derelict line with Icon.

It’s not cheap, either, regardless of what you might think when you first lay eyes on it. Even after all these years, Ward is still using it as his daily, but other Derelict cars sell for anything between $200,000 and more than $1 million.