From Kindig-It Design to Legend Motor Co.: The Story of Nick Panos

Long before Legend Motor Co. produced its first vehicle, Nick Panos was learning what separates a finished car from a truly resolved one.

His career brought him to Kindig-It Design in Salt Lake City, one of the best-known custom automotive shops in the country. It was there, surrounded by ambitious builds, experienced craftsmen and uncompromising clients, that Nick developed skills that would eventually shape his own approach to vehicle building.

His work also appeared on the MotorTrend television series Bitchin’ Rides, introducing audiences around the world to the craftsmanship taking place inside the Utah shop.

But television recognition was never the final destination.

For Nick, the years at Kindig-It became part of a much longer education—one that eventually led him away from working within someone else’s blueprint and toward building an entirely new vehicle under his own name.

Learning at Kindig-It Design

Kindig-It Design built its reputation by transforming classic vehicles into one-of-a-kind custom machines. Its projects demanded far more than replacing worn components or applying new paint. Cars were redesigned, reshaped and reconstructed through extensive fabrication, bodywork, mechanical engineering and finish work.

Working in that environment exposed Nick to the complete lifecycle of a high-level custom build.

Every project required hundreds of interconnected decisions. A change to the body could affect fabrication, fitment and final assembly. Mechanical upgrades had to coexist with the original architecture. Interior components had to look intentional while fitting within spaces designed generations earlier.

The finished vehicle might appear effortless, but creating it required relentless problem-solving behind the scenes.

That experience reinforced a standard Nick still carries today: the quality of a build is determined as much by the details nobody sees as by the surfaces everyone notices.

The Bitchin’ Rides Years

Kindig-It Design became nationally recognized through Bitchin’ Rides, which followed Dave Kindig and his team as they designed, fabricated and completed real customer vehicles.

Nick appeared on the show during his time at the shop, allowing viewers to see his expertise and personality as part of the build process.

The exposure introduced his work to an international automotive audience, but the larger value came from the work itself. Building at that level meant meeting demanding expectations while working through the realities of vintage vehicles—old structures, previous repairs, limited packaging and mechanical systems that were never designed for modern performance.

Each vehicle presented a different challenge. Each one also taught Nick more about the limitations that come with beginning from an existing platform.

A Lifelong Connection to Classic 4x4s

Nick’s interest in utility vehicles began long before his professional career.

He came home from the hospital as a newborn in his family’s 1985 FJ60 Toyota Land Cruiser. That early connection grew into a lifelong fascination with classic trucks and vintage four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Over the years, Nick restored and modified numerous vintage 4x4s. He came to understand what made them special: their upright proportions, honest construction, mechanical simplicity and unmistakable sense of purpose.

He also understood what time had exposed.

Older vehicles can carry decades of corrosion, worn wiring, previous repairs and outdated systems. Even an extensive restoration must work around the structure and engineering decisions of the original vehicle.

The more Nick built, the clearer the next question became:

What if the iconic character could be preserved without inheriting the limitations?

From Restoration to Reconsideration

That question became the foundation of Legend Motor Co.

Established in Salt Lake City in 2021, Legend represented a shift in Nick’s career. Instead of starting with a donor vehicle and improving what already existed, he could begin with the desired result and work backward.

The goal was not to reproduce an old 4x4.

It was to preserve the stance, simplicity and character that made the original silhouette matter—then reconsider everything underneath it.

That meant using a new aluminum body rather than repairing an aging steel structure. It meant modern American power instead of an obsolete drivetrain. It meant selecting contemporary suspension, axles, brakes, electrical systems and interior components that could support real ownership.

Legend’s philosophy became simple:

Not restored. Reconsidered.

Building Signature Series 001

Signature Series 001 became the first public expression of that philosophy.

The vehicle paired an all-aluminum, protective-lined body with a modern Jeep JK-based chassis and a GM LT1 6.2-liter V8. Its exterior retained the visual honesty of a classic utility vehicle, while its chassis, drivetrain, suspension, brakes and interior were selected for contemporary capability and serviceability.

It was not intended to be a museum piece or a familiar shape placed over an untouched vintage foundation.

It was a newly constructed vehicle designed to be driven.

Automotive publications recognized the distinction. Coverage of Signature Series 001 focused on its combination of British-inspired utility proportions, American mechanical components and bespoke craftsmanship.

For Nick, it represented something even more personal: the opportunity to apply twenty years of lessons without being constrained by someone else’s original blueprint.

Twenty Years. One Standard.

Legend Motor Co. operates with deliberately limited production.

Each vehicle begins with a direct conversation between Nick and its future owner. Body configuration, mechanical specifications, colors, materials and interior details are selected around how that person intends to use the vehicle.

The build is then completed by hand in Salt Lake City. Its major stages are photographed and documented, and every vehicle carrying the Legend name is personally reviewed and approved by Nick.

This level of involvement is not the most efficient way to produce vehicles at scale.

That is precisely the point.

Legend was created to protect the relationship between the builder, the vehicle and the person commissioning it.

The Builder Behind Every Legend

Nick’s career has moved through restoration shops, vintage 4x4s, Kindig-It Design, national television and finally the founding of Legend Motor Co.

Each chapter contributed something different: technical ability, an understanding of proportion, respect for craftsmanship and an increasingly clear vision of what he wanted to build.

Legend Motor Co. is the result of those experiences coming together.

It is not an attempt to recreate the past exactly as it was. It is Nick’s answer to what a timeless utility vehicle can become when the builder is allowed to reconsider every component, every material and every detail.

For those considering a hand-built Legend of their own, the process begins with a private conversation directly with the builder.