Car lovers chase feelings. Engineers chase repeatability. At Vintage Modern (formerly Vintage Broncos), we spent years trying to do both—until we realized the only way forward was to stop looking backward.
We used to build restomods. High-end, frame-off restorations with modern drivetrains, upgraded interiors, and performance modifications. Our customers loved the fit and finish, quality, and service but they didn’t drive like a modern vehicle and they had zero safety features. After years of building and hundreds of hours behind the wheel testing our own work and listening to client feedback we kept confronting the same truth: no matter how much money, time, or craftsmanship we invested, we were still starting with 50-year-old engineering.
The steering was never quite right. The brakes required more attention than modern drivers expect. The frames had limitations we couldn’t engineer around. And critically—we could never add airbags to a structure that wasn’t designed for them.
So we asked a different question: What if we stopped trying to make old cars more modern and started making modern cars look vintage?
What Is a Modern Classic?
A Modern Classic by Vintage Modern is not a restoration. It’s not a restomod. It’s a completely reimagined vehicle engineered from a 2025 Ford chassis, wrapped in classic-inspired American-made steel body panels so you can get the best of both worlds.
The distinction matters:
Traditional Restoration: Unless you’re a collector or purist, you won’t like the loose steering, bad brakes, leaks, and the smell of gasoline.
Restomod: Better than a restoration, but still doesn’t drive like a 2025 vehicle and has zero safety features for your family.
Modern Classic (Us): Finally a classic-inspired luxury vehicle with zero compromises—2025 technology and modern safety features including 6 airbags.
Our Modern Classics start fresh. Every component is engineered to meet current FMVSS standards. The result is a vehicle that looks like it belongs in 1970 but drives, handles, and protects occupants with today’s technology and safety features.
The World’s Only Classic-Styled Vehicle with Airbags
This is the claim no other builder can make: Vintage Modern produces the only classic-styled vehicle that has modern safety features, meets FMVSS compliance and has been physically crash tested.
Every Modern Classic includes six passenger airbags, engineered crumple zones, side-impact beams, anti-lock brakes, traction control, electronic stability control, a roll sensor, and LATCH anchors for child seats. Driver-assist technology includes lane assist, pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking, backup camera, and parking sensors.
Our vehicles are crash tested and FMVSS compliant. They’re 50-states emissions legal. No traditional restoration or restomod can pass today’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards—because those vehicles weren’t designed for them.
You don’t notice these systems on perfect days. You’re grateful for them when weather, traffic, or wildlife disagrees.
Modern Driving Dynamics on a Classic Silhouette
Classic trucks and SUVs typically feature short wheelbases with solid axles—capable off-road, but resulting in vague steering, extended braking distances, and unpredictable road manners that require constant driver attention.
Modern Classics are built on a longer 100.4-inch wheelbase with a wider track width, independent front suspension, and Electric Power-Assisted Steering. The geometry is modern. The behavior is modern. Highway merging, parking, and everyday maneuvers feel natural—not like wrestling with automotive history.
Under the hood: a modern turbocharged engine with Roush Performance Package, paired with your choice of 10-speed automatic or 7-speed manual transmission. Fox Factory coilover suspension is tuned specifically for luxury and comfort, not compromise.
Technology That Supports, Not Distracts
A 12-inch touchscreen provides Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, navigation, and media control. Dual-zone climate control maintains comfort across seasons. Heated seats and steering wheel handle cold mornings. Cruise control and lane keep assist reduce fatigue on long transits. Keyless entry and remote start add everyday convenience.
Digital where it helps. Analog where it matters. The technology disappears into the experience rather than dominating it.
NVH Engineering: Quiet Confidence
Classic trucks are charismatic but often loud, hot, and busy. We engineer NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) from day one.
Purpose-built isolators and brackets limit resonance transfer into the cabin. Improved seals, baffle paths, and interior layering reduce wind rush while maintaining mechanical character. Spring and damper tuning delivers composure at speed and comfort on broken pavement.
Long drives stop feeling like a tax on your attention and start feeling like actual escapes.
Handcrafted in Atlanta
Each Modern Classic requires over 900 hours of handcrafted work at our Atlanta, Georgia facility. American-made classic-inspired steel body panels deliver the right visual weight and surface fidelity. Real metals where your hands go—switchgear with confident clicks rather than lightweight plastic.
Interior longevity is engineered through 12 premium leather upholsteries chosen for colorfastness and long-term feel. A curated palette of 30 paint colors—from heritage hues like Boxwood Green and Brittany Blue to statement colors like Grabber Blue and Loveshack Pink—allows personalization without the uncertainty of a hobbyist project.
Celebrity customers include Jennifer Lopez, Mark Wahlberg, LeBron James, and Kevin Hart. But perhaps more telling: 50% of our 250+ satisfied customers are women with children—buyers who refuse to compromise on safety and have found that Vintage Modern is the only option that doesn’t ask them to.
Warranty and Service Built for Modern Ownership
Every Modern Classic includes a white-glove 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. In the unlikely event of an issue that can’t be resolved remotely, certified traveling technicians will come to your home within 72 hours—anywhere in the continental United States—at no additional cost.
This isn’t the typical classic car ownership experience of hunting for specialized mechanics and sourcing obsolete parts. This is modern ownership for a modern classic.
Why We Evolved Beyond Restomods
Our founder, Chau Nguyen, built a career in technology before shifting focus to automotive. After owning over 50 modern performance cars—Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, McLarens—he bought his first classic: a 1970 Ford Bronco.
The experience was educational. Loose steering. Poor braking. Leaks. Squeaks. Rattles. Breakdowns. The charm of vintage design came packaged with the compromises of vintage engineering.
Chau asked a simple question: Why can’t it look classic but operate like a modern car?
We started by building restomods—high-end restorations with modern drivetrains and upgraded interiors. Our customers appreciated the improvements. But after years of customer feedback about the inherent limitations of building on vintage platforms, we realized that restomods were a half-measure. They made classic cars better, but they couldn’t make them modern.
So we stopped restoring old cars and started engineering new ones. The result is the world’s first fully modernized classic car—a vehicle that captures the soul of 1960s design while delivering 2025 safety, reliability, and driving dynamics.
Who Is a Modern Classic For?
If you’re a purist collector who values historical authenticity above all else, traditional restorations serve that purpose. If you want something better than stock but aren’t concerned about modern safety standards, restomods offer improvement.
But if you want to actually drive a vehicle with classic style—to use it for school runs, weekend adventures, cross-country road trips, and everyday life—there’s only one option that doesn’t require compromising your family’s safety for aesthetic preference.
Modern Classics are built for people who want the emotion of vintage design without the anxiety of vintage ownership. People who appreciate craftsmanship but expect reliability. People who love the way classic trucks look but refuse to accept that looking good means driving scared.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Modern Classic street legal?
Yes. Every Modern Classic is FMVSS compliant and 50-states emissions legal. Vehicles arrive registration-ready with complete documentation for straightforward titling and plating.
Can I use a Modern Classic as a daily driver?
Absolutely. Modern Classics are engineered for daily use—not weekend garage queens. The 2025 chassis, modern powertrain, climate control, and full safety suite make them as practical as any contemporary SUV, with significantly more character.
What’s the difference between a Modern Classic and a restomod?
Restomods start with vintage donor vehicles and add modern upgrades. Modern Classics start with a 2025 chassis and build a classic-inspired body around it. This fundamental difference allows Modern Classics to include safety features—like airbags and crumple zones—that are structurally impossible to add to vintage platforms.
Are Modern Classics safe for families with children?
Yes. Modern Classics include six airbags, engineered crumple zones, side-impact beams, ABS, traction control, stability control, and LATCH anchors for child seats. These are the only classic-styled vehicles on the market with modern crash protection. Half of our customers are women with children—buyers who specifically sought us out because they refused to compromise on safety.
How do I customize a Modern Classic?
Start with our online configurator at vintagemodern.co/configurator to explore 30 curated paint colors and 12 premium leather upholsteries. Then work directly with our team to refine materials, accents, and details. Each build is personalized without the timeline uncertainty of custom projects.
Ready to Experience the Difference?
We didn’t set out to create a new category. We set out to solve a problem: how to deliver the emotional experience of vintage design without the compromises that make vintage vehicles impractical for modern life.
The answer required starting over. Not improving old cars—engineering new ones. Not bolting modern parts onto vintage frames—building from a modern chassis up.
The result is the Modern Classic: a vehicle that looks like the past, drives like the present, and protects like nothing else on the road.
Explore current inventory at vintagemodern.co/inventory or call +1 (470) 536-1277 to discuss your build.
