GMC Syclone Marlboro Special Edition: The Most Politically Incorrect Pickup on Earth

To preface, we're not ones to judge people's personal vices. No matter the danger to one's own health, consuming tobacco is ultimately one's own personal choice. In 2020, for example, as many as 13 out of every 100 Americans aged 18 or older smoked tobacco products regularly. Among that percentage of American adults, Marlboro still holds a 40% market share, more than the next seven cigarette companies combined.

But 30 years ago, the stranglehold of government regulations had yet to push tobacco companies to the margins of society. Advertising deals between tobacco companies and automakers were still a common practice, if a bit on the decline by the time of the 1990s. Marlboro themselves sponsored Michael Schumacher's Ferrari Formula One car until as late as the early 2000s, in fact. Soon after, the practice was banned by the European Union. Marlboro also sponsored race cars in MotoGP racing, the Superbike world championship, the 24 Hours of LeMans, the World Rally Championship, and even IndyCar racing.

But of course, a road-legal production vehicle is a whole different ball game than a race car. Effectively because the thing inevitably becomes a rolling advertisement for products that have been known to kill people, slowly, for decades.

But let's face it. As far as brand sponsorships fitting with the theme of the vehicle, the Marlboro branded GMC Syclone fits its sponsor like a leather glove. This limited edition Syclone only had ten examples built for the entire planet, constructed as prizes for the ten winners of Marlboro Racing's '92 Contest.

The ten winners were gifted with a truck unlike any other in the world. For the uninitiated, the GMC Syclone is a bit like a Chevy S-10 blazer with a GMC logo and a turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 under the hood that could pull on an equivalent model year Ferrari 348 of the day. Only 3,000 or so Syclones were built between 1991 and 1992, with these 10 Marlboro special editions being some of the most sought after.

Little trinkets featured in these ten trucks include a distinctive bright red paint scheme with white graphical accents on the doors and hood. A touch added on the advice of Larry Shinoda, designer of the Boss Mustang, and Corvette Stingray, who served as a creative consultant for the Marlboro Syclone. The trucks were modified in cooperation with the American Sunroof Company, a long-forgotten supplier for General Motors specializing in high-quality body kits and roof arrangements.

ASC was responsible for converting the roof into a targa-style panel with mounting points in the bed of the truck. The iconic Marlboro window sticker was added at the factory alongside the new roof. Elsewhere, Boyd Coddington Cobra wheels on Goodyear Eagle GS-C performance tires helped add a touch of custom flair for a look that's more reminiscent of a racing truck than a street truck. Recaro leather bucket seats with a Simpson five-point racing harness further added to the gentleman racer aesthetic the design team was aiming for. As does the Bell Tech multi-link suspension kit, which lowered the truck a further three inches.

It's all tied together with a Borla exhaust kit that made for a noise much nicer sounding than stock. It makes for a package that's enticing even if you've never sparked up a stogie in your entire life. There's an undeniable effortless cool factor in a truck that advertises something as taboo and demonized as cigarettes. No matter how hard politicians and special interest groups tried to make tobacco products appear lame, it appears to only ever made them more enticing.

That's probably why what remains of this fleet of ten Syclone trucks is even more valuable than a standard model. When last appraised by the experts at Mecum auctions, one of the handful of Marlbolor Syclones was valued between $75,000 and $85,000 before taxes and fees. So then, new Audi A8 money for a car that's 30 years old, and looks like a pack of Marlboro Reds on wheels. Sounds fair and valid to us.

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