Introduced in 1925, the Ford Model T “Runabout with Pickup Body” is widely considered a first. Come 1978, crosstown rival Dodge rolled out another first in the guise of the Lil’ Red Express. The performance-oriented pickup truck would be reimagined in 1991 by General Motors with the Syclone, sold in extremely limited numbers by the GMC division.
Manufactured in collaboration with Production Automotive Services, the Syclone paved the way for a performance-oriented utility vehicle that sold a little better. GMC ended production of the Typhoon in 1993 after delivering 4,697 units, while the Syclone left us for greener pastures with just under 3,000 examples to its name. As a result, the Syclone fetches big money on the used market as long as you can find a well-maintained one.
The Syclone and Typhoon wouldn’t have been possible without the one-year-only GNX, though. The Buick division opted for a turbocharged V6 for this application, a recipe that proved to be more than adequate in the quarter mile versus full-on sports cars, including exotics from Europe. Displacing 4.3 liters, the force-fed V6 tower of power in the Syclone pickup truck and Typhoon SUV bears regular production order code LB4.
In addition to the Mitsubishi-sourced turbocharger, the six-cylinder lump is gifted with a Garrett intercooler, a twin-bore throttle body from the 5.7-liter small block of that era, hypereutectic pistons, nodular iron main caps, the 4L60 automatic transmission, and a BorgWarner 4472 transfer case designed to split torque 35 percent front and 65 percent for the rear axle.
The Syclone also holds a special place in truck pantheon for being the first series-production truck to get anti-lock brakes at every corner. Officially rated at 280 horsepower and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) of tire-smoking torque, the Syclone uses the instrument cluster of the Pontiac Sunbird Turbo. Capable of hitting 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) in 4.3 seconds, this blast from the past covers the quarter mile in 13.4 seconds.
Chassis number 1GDCT14Z4M8800323 is a well-maintained Syclone produced for the 1991 model year, in which the Syclone was exclusively offered with black paintwork. The meticulously documented survivor in the photo gallery logged 10,854 miles (17,468 kilometers) since it rolled off the assembly line, which is nothing for the General Motors GMT325 platform of the S-15 and Sonoma on which the GMC Syclone is based.
Currently located in North Carolina, the 31-year-old truck is offered by RK Motors Charlotte with the original black paint, Delco AM/FM cassette player with a graphic equalizer, tonneau cover, pre-delivery inspection paperwork, state inspection records, and a certificate of authenticity. The window sticker is included in the sale as well, showing a total price of $26,175 or circa $57,215 adjusted for way too many years of inflation.
Pictured on the factory-supplied Firestone Firehawk SVX tires, the 1991 GMC Syclone in the clip below is advertised for a whopping $94,900.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News