This 1970 Chevy Suburban Costs More Than Most Supercars

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Icon’s vehicles have never been cheap, but its latest vehicle goes above and beyond. The company has long offered custom resto-modded SUVs with deep-six-figure price tags, and it’s now set its sights on the Chevy Suburban. Called the Reformer, the updated, hand-built SUV sports 1,000 horsepower and a $1.1 million starting price.


That’s a shocking number, but this is a one-of-one vehicle commissioned by a well-heeled Icon customer. Company CEO Jonathon Ward said. “This client wanted us to stretch creatively, which resulted in more aggressive performance and styling than we typically opt for.”

Icon will reveal the wild 1970 Suburban in the flesh on November 19th at a charity event in Southern California. The SUV started as a bone-stock factory three-door and got an NRE twin-turbo Alien LS 427 motor making 1,000 horsepower and 900 pound-feet of torque. Icon said it aimed for reliability with the setup, noting that the driver can idle with the AC on in traffic at 900 rpm.


Icon employed a custom four-wheel independent chassis for the build, and power reaches the wheels through a 4L85 automatic transmission. Brembo brakes, HRE custom wheels, and performance tires keep the SUV on the road and stopping safely. Interior touches include several hand-made bespoke touches, and Icon said it went over every button, knob, and dial as part of the project.

[Image: Icon]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Carson D Carson D on Nov 10, 2023

    I don't have a million dollars extra to put into a custom truck, so I suppose my opinion doesn't really matter. That thing looks like twenty-five thousand dollars poorly spent to me anyway.

  • Abraham Abraham on Nov 11, 2023
    1. Sits kinda low.
    2. Bumpers are just wrong, they should have jazzed those up and integrated them into the body a little.
    3. 1.1 million dollars? Okay…
  • Namesakeone If I were the parent of a teenage daughter, I would want her in an H1 Hummer. It would be big enough to protect her in a crash, too big for her to afford the fuel (and thus keep her home), big enough to intimidate her in a parallel-parking situation (and thus keep her home), and the transmission tunnel would prevent backseat sex.If I were the parent of a teenage son, I would want him to have, for his first wheeled transportation...a ride-on lawnmower. For obvious reasons.
  • ToolGuy If I were a teen under the tutelage of one of the B&B, I think it would make perfect sense to jump straight into one of those "forever cars"... see then I could drive it forever and not have to worry about ever replacing it. This plan seems flawless, doesn't it?
  • Rover Sig A short cab pickup truck, F150 or C/K-1500 or Ram, preferably a 6 cyl. These have no room for more than one or two passengers (USAA stats show biggest factor in teenage accidents is a vehicle full of kids) and no back seat (common sense tells you what back seats are used for). In a full-size pickup truck, the inevitable teenage accident is more survivable. Second choice would be an old full-size car, but these have all but disappeared from the used car lots. The "cute small car" is a death trap.
  • W Conrad Sure every technology has some environmental impact, but those stuck in fossil fuel land are just not seeing the future of EV's makes sense. Rather than making EV's even better, these automakers are sticking with what they know. It will mean their end.
  • Add Lightness A simple to fix, strong, 3 pedal car that has been tenderized on every corner.
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