It all started with the 14-year-old kid who had the new video game, the big-screen TV in their room, then the surround-sound home theater system. Gadgets, big and small, are a phenomenon we can relate to. Louder, bigger, better, and newer are all attributes of such must-have gadgets. David Fernandez of Icon-TV understands this latest and greatest craze, so he decided to build a phenomenon (Icon's products) within a phenomenon - the Hummer H2. Proving to be just the right platform to highlight his company's products, the H2 was just the right place to put all of the cool stuff.
First designed to showcase the company's best new monitors, like so many projects, the monitors turned into audio, the audio turned into suspension, and the wheels and tires into performance bolt-ons. Opening the large doors on the '03 H2 reveal an interior worthy of closer examination. Where the once-boring Delco head unit resided, a new 9-inch Icon-TV screen was flush-mounted inside the plastic shell. Each sunvisor now houses the new extra-large 9-inch Icon-TV screen, allowing the sun to be blocked out and the entertainment to be absorbed. Also receiving the custom revamping procedure, the headrests containing 8-inch Icon-TV screens had wireless headphones for each monitor. Keeping reverse chores in check is a bumper-mounted camera viewable on each screen. Whereas seven screens are nice, one more couldn't hurt, and with this mindset, the old cloth headliner was yanked down and a new suede liner installed, complete with a low-profile 15-inch screen. Next up, the Icon crew decided to upholster the seats with suede inserts that match the headliner. Seeing is believing, but David wanted Icon's H2 to have all of the latest gadgets available, so they moved to the audio and introduced telematics into the project.
Providing tunes and video signals for the H2 is an Alpine DVA-7996 mounted in the lower panel of the center dashpod. Mids and highs are blasted through two sets of MTX 6-1/2-inch components in each door with 5-1/4-inch MTX components in the rear quarter panels. Providing the boom for all who check out the Icon-TV project are two 12-inch MTX 9500 subs enclosed in an awesome enclosure in the rear cargo area. Power comes from three MTX amps and wiring is by StreetWires. In case all the show and boom does not do it for you, the H2 is also equipped with the new WinMobil system, allowing the operator of the vehicle to control e-mail, internet, and DVD player functions through the Windows-operated computer.
Venturing outside the luxurious interior, you'll find a bevy of aftermarket wizardry continuing throughout. Mounted atop the roof rack are 10 PIAA off-road lights, a fullsize spare, and the antenna for the XM Radio. Allowing the lights plenty of visibility travel is a 6-inch Fabtech lift, complete with 40-inch Goodyear MTR tires mounted on the factory 17-inch wheels. FST Motorsports installed the beefy kit and also added rugged Bilstein shocks at each corner. Keeping with the rugged theme, FST Motorsports also fabricated a front safari bar complete with four PIAA lights. Motivating this rolling business card is a blown 6.0L, thanks to a Paxton Supercharger, Gibson headers and exhaust, and tuning handled by Hypertech.
Now Icon-TV had a full-fledged and capable project-display vehicle to showcase how an established electronic company could build more than just a home for its monitors. Ask them if the project is complete and the smiles abound as though no project is ever complete. Stay tuned until we have another Hummer filled with even more gadgets.