Icon Helios Is Gorgeous Tesla-Powered Electric Streamliner ConceptIcon Helios Is Gorgeous Tesla-Powered Electric Streamliner Concept

The Tesla Model S is a great car, but if there’s one thing the luxury electric sedan is missing it’s a bit of Art Deco style.
And maybe a hint of World War II fighter aircraft. And some steampunk cool mixed in for good measure.
All those aspects somehow come together in the Icon Helios–a 1930s-style streamliner using the batteries and running gear from Tesla’s electric sedan.
It doesn’t exist just yet, of course. At the moment, its just a series of beautiful-looking sketches (via Topline) on the drawing board of Jonathan Ward, the man behind Los Angeles-based Icon.
Day-to-day, Icon turns old Ford Broncos, Toyota FJs and Chevy Thriftmaster trucks into rolling works of engineering art.
All are built with obsessive attention to detail and a keen eye on design. Think of Icon in relation to old trucks as Singer is to classic Porsches–a company that takes what were once working vehicles and brings out their full potential.
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The Icon Helios is very obviously not a breathed-upon Model S. Instead, Icon has used its engineering expertise and fabrication skills to conceptualize a vehicle that draws from classic design but uses up-to-date technology.
For design, the 1930s streamliner style is easy to understand. Many consider cars from this period–Bugattis, Duesenbergs, Talbot-Lagos–to be some of the most beautiful ever created.
It shares all their cues–the boat-tail, the central fin running down the length of the roof, the prominent wheel arches, and the Art Deco-inspired grille that wouldn’t look out of place on a New York skyscraper.
Ward’s design also throws in a little 1930s aircraft style. With hand-shaped bare aluminum and exposed rivets, it’s an automotive interpretation of a Vought Corsair or a P-47 Thunderbolt.
Icon Helios – Tesla-powered streamliner
Where Tesla comes in is under the skin.
The Model S is rare for a modern car in that its entire drivetrain and running gear can be more or less operated independently from its body.
The batteries, drive motor and rolling components all form a sled that can be dropped under just about any body, like the floorpan of an old Volkswagen Bug. Only a great deal faster and more sophisticated.
In actuality, Icon is more interested in the all-wheel drive platform of the upcoming Tesla Model X crossover, and Ward says he’s actively seeking a meeting with Elon Musk to try and move his concept forward.
There aren’t plans for a proper production run–the car will likely remain a one-off–and according to Jalopnik, Ward wants to sell it to design icon Ralph Lauren.
Even if just one model hits the road, we’d consider it a success. If not for the car itself, then to usher in a new era of coachbuilt cars, powered by electricity.
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