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Vintage Modern founder and CEO Chau Nguyen told The Drive that some buyers drawn to classic cars want their appearance without the reliability and usability problems of older vehicles. The company’s approach is to build modernized, classic-inspired vehicles; The Drive reports that its vehicles are FMVSS-certified and crash-tested. The source does not identify specific recent sales or provide certification details.
Vintage Modern founder and CEO Chau Nguyen says some celebrity buyers who commission classic-looking vehicles do not want the mechanical experience of an old car, prompting his company to build vehicles that pair vintage styling with modern engineering. In an interview with The Drivecast, Nguyen described a business shift from traditional restorations toward what the company calls fully modernized, classic-inspired cars, with safety and reliability central to the pitch.
Nguyen told The Drive’s Kyle Cheromcha and Joel Feder that his interest in the business came from owning older vehicles, including a Ford Bronco, Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, Mustang and Hummer H1. He said the vehicles had appealing looks but also recurring problems. His experience, including being stranded, led him to pursue a product for people who want a classic appearance without giving up modern reliability and technology.
The company’s approach differs from a conventional restoration or restomod, which typically modifies an older vehicle while retaining much of its original structure and character. The source describes Vintage Modern as making new vehicles look and feel old, and reports that its builds are FMVSS-certified and crash-tested. The article does not provide model-by-model technical details or documents describing the certification process.
Nguyen said concern about customer safety became personal after he delivered a traditional restoration to LeBron James. He recalled worrying about the consequences if James were injured in the truck. That experience helped shape his view that buyers may value the look of a classic more than its period equipment, usability or driving behavior. The source offers Nguyen’s account of customer preferences, but does not provide sales data or customer research to quantify the trend.
Classic Styling, Modern Safety Demands
The business addresses a tension in the collector-car market: buyers may be attracted to the design and status associated with vintage vehicles while expecting the reliability and safety of a modern one. If that preference extends beyond a small group of celebrity clients, it could support a different kind of restoration business—one that treats the classic look as a design brief rather than a requirement to preserve an old vehicle’s underlying experience.
Safety is a central part of Nguyen’s reasoning. Older vehicles generally predate many current vehicle technologies and safety requirements, while a newly engineered vehicle faces different regulatory and crash-testing demands. The Drive’s report says Vintage Modern’s vehicles are FMVSS-certified and crash-tested, but does not identify the specific standards, test results or vehicles covered. Those details matter to buyers evaluating whether the company’s modernized approach delivers more than improved comfort and convenience.
The model also illustrates the complexity of making a vehicle look old while engineering it as new. A change in body shape or styling can affect the vehicle’s structure and systems, so the work is not necessarily a straightforward body swap. The interview covers those engineering challenges, though the supplied source does not provide a full technical breakdown.
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From Traditional Restorations to Remasters
The Drive presents Vintage Modern’s evolution against a competitive, growing market for high-end restorations. The company initially became associated with turning 1960s and 1970s Ford Broncos into high-profile vehicles. Nguyen’s account describes a later move away from simply restoring older cars toward building modern vehicles with classic-inspired styling.
In the interview, Nguyen said he had owned several older vehicles and found that their looks did not make up for the practical problems. He described modern drivers as accustomed to contemporary reliability, engineering and technology, and said that experience informed the company’s offering. The Drive characterizes this approach as a reverse restomod: instead of modernizing an old car, the company starts with a modern vehicle and gives it a vintage appearance.
The episode also places Nguyen’s business in a wider conversation about whether automakers should offer new vehicles with older design cues. The source says that demand is often voiced, but does not establish how large the market is or whether major manufacturers plan to respond. The Drivecast is a weekly automotive podcast; Nguyen appeared with editor-in-chief Kyle Cheromcha and content and product director Joel Feder.
“They all looked cool. And the other thing they all had in common was they were all very problematic.”
— Chau Nguyen, Vintage Modern founder and CEO, speaking to The Drivecast
Sales, Models and Testing Details
The source does not say how many vehicles Vintage Modern has built or sold, how much they cost, or how long customers wait for delivery. It also does not identify which current models are available or explain the company’s production capacity. Nguyen’s account describes what he believes buyers want, but the report supplies no survey or sales figures showing how broadly that preference is shared.
Although The Drive says the vehicles are FMVSS-certified and crash-tested, the supplied material does not list the specific tests, certification documentation or results. It is also unclear which components are newly engineered, which come from donor vehicles and how the company’s vehicles are classified for regulatory purposes. Those details would help readers compare the builds with conventional restorations and production vehicles.
More on the Build Process
The Drivecast interview is the immediate source for further detail: Nguyen discusses the company’s engineering, the difficulty of changing a vehicle’s body, and how Vintage Modern turned viral attention into a continuing business. The source does not announce a new model, production target or release date.
For buyers considering a vehicle, the next useful developments would be model-specific specifications, pricing, delivery timelines and accessible documentation of testing and certification. Until those details are published, the company’s reported safety credentials and Nguyen’s account of customer demand remain the main information available in the supplied report.
Key Questions
What does Vintage Modern build?
The company builds modernized, classic-inspired vehicles. Nguyen says the aim is to give customers vintage styling without the reliability and usability problems he experienced with older vehicles.
Is this the same as a traditional restomod?
Not exactly. A traditional restomod generally modifies an older vehicle. The Drive describes Vintage Modern’s approach as starting with modern vehicles and making them look classic, a concept the report calls a reverse restomod.
Why did safety influence the company’s approach?
Nguyen said he worried about a customer’s safety after delivering a traditional restoration to LeBron James. The Drive reports that Vintage Modern’s vehicles are FMVSS-certified and crash-tested, but the supplied material does not give test results or certification documents.
Does the report show that celebrities broadly prefer modernized classics?
No. Nguyen describes his experience with celebrity buyers and his view of customer preferences, but the report includes no sales figures or customer survey establishing how widespread that preference is.
What information has not been disclosed?
The source does not give current vehicle prices, production or sales numbers, delivery times, a complete model list, or detailed testing documentation. It also does not announce a new release or production milestone.
Source: thedrive.com
