ICON Helios Project Could Use a BMW M3 Base [UPDATE]

 

                    

Posted By Jeff Perez             

 

ICON’s Jonathan Ward is a mad scientist. And I say that in the most loving way possible. I was hanging out at ICON HQ this past week — and aside from seeing some beautiful custom 4x4s firsthand — he gave me a little bit more info on his upcoming Helios project.

It’s arguably one of his most ambitious projects to date; a retro-designed coupe with lines similar to something you’d see out of The Great Gatsby. The whole idea, he says, was inspired from the old Cunningham racers of the 50s and 60s.

But it’s what could be underneath that’ll surprise you. Initially, the idea called for a Tesla Model S as a base, but now, he might be going in a whole new direction with it.According to Ward, they “might use an M3 for the base.”

 Admittedly, it’s still too early on in the project to say whether this will happen for sure — he hasn’t even finalized the design yet. But if an M3 does fit underneath this retro-tastic design, I don’t doubt it will have somewhere north of 500 horsepower. Because why the hell not.

[UPDATE 3:15]

Jonathan just sent me an email letting me know that the Helios, and the Cunningham-inspired project aren’t actually one in the same. The Helios project will still likely use a lot of the details originally outlined, while the second, separate project — a Cunningham-inspired coupe based on the M3 — could still happen, but a lot of details need to be worked out.

Either way, it’s going to turn out epic!