(first posted 4/28/2014) The short-lived GMC Syclone pickup and Typhoon SUV, which burst onto the automotive scene in 1991 only to disappear after 1993, turned the usual modus operandi of General Motors on its head.
During the 1980s and 1990s, GM would repeatedly introduce a new model with a strong concept but flawed execution, spend years developing it, and finally produce a successful version just before discontinuing the model. The Pontiac Fiero (1984-88), the aerodynamic Caprice that transformed from a bloated whale into the Impala SS (1991-96), and even the Buick Grand National (1982-87), which did not reach 200 horsepower or get its signature all-black color scheme until 1984, are prominent examples.
With the GMC Syclone and Typhoon, GM made the opposite mistake: introducing an exciting new model that was right from the beginning, but abandoning it almost immediately. Two decades later, the Syclone and Typhoon are highly collectible and few remain on the street, making this Syclone sighting in April a noteworthy event.
GMC introduced the Syclone in 1991 to great fanfare. With pickup trucks and SUVs established as mainstream passenger vehicles by the beginning of the 1990s and serious horsepower starting to re-enter the market, the Syclone capitalized on both trends with a pickup that was not only the fastest truck ever made, but also the quickest accelerating vehicle available in the United States. With a turbocharged and intercooled 4.3L V6 rated at 280 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, all wheel drive with a 35/65 front/rear torque distribution, and four-wheel antilock brakes (the first in a production truck), it was a sophisticated performance package capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds, with a governed top speed of 126 mph. Car and Driver compared a Syclone to a Ferrari 348ts in a September 1991 review, and although the Syclone’s performance characteristics were very different, with a weaker at the top end, it easily outran the Ferrari from 0-60 and in the quarter mile. The Syclone was also quicker from 0-60 than the Corvette ZR-1 introduced in 1990 and the new Dodge Viper of 1992.
The heart of the Syclone was a unique engine shared only with the Typhoon. Sometimes confused for the Buick Grand National engine, it shared the Buick’s sequential fuel injection, turbocharger, and intercooler, but its foundation was a 4.3L Chevrolet 90 degree V6, not the 3.8L Buick 90 degree V6 of the Grand National. The drivetrain made efficient use of the turbo V6’s power, with a THM 700R4 automatic that kept the engine on boost, and a Borg-Warner all wheel drive system that allowed the Syclone to put the power down in all conditions, without wheel spin, just like an Audi Quattro.
GMC tried to give the Syclone a more comfortable and appealing interior, with bucket seats with piping and “Syclone” logos, fuzzy cloth layered over strategic locations, a console, and a leather wrapped steering wheel, but there was only so much that it could do to disguise the cheap-looking hard plastic interior from the S-10/Sonoma compact pickup. It also had an upgraded gauge cluster, but it came from the Pontiac Sunbird Turbo, itself not renowned for having an attractive interior.
With a base price of $25,970–$45,233 in 2014 dollars–the Syclone was expensive, and based as it was on the S-10/Sonoma, it did not look or feel like a car at its price point. Performance and not luxury or build quality was the attraction of the Syclone, though, and it delivered what it promised.
The automotive press loved the Syclone, since it offered a performance experience available in no other car at the time. Being the fastest accelerating vehicle on the market guaranteed it attention. Delivering its muscle through an automatic transmission requiring no launch skill or attention to turbo boost levels, and through an all weather capable all wheel drive system, made it a sophisticated and intelligent performance vehicle as well. Car and Driver and other domestic reviewers were not alone in raving about the Syclone. Even in Europe, reviewers normally highly critical of American cars loved what the Syclone could do. In this early Top Gear video review, a young Jeremy Clarkson–then required to talk about the car itself instead of being a snarky comedian–suspends his usual criticism of American cars and lavishes praise on the Syclone.
The Syclone was an experience that few drivers would have, though. GMC produced it for only one year and limited production to 2,995, with three more completed in 1992. The engine and drivetrain continued for two more years in the Typhoon, built on a two door S-10 Blazer/S-15 Jimmy body. The Typhoon was less of a novelty vehicle than the Syclone, with its SUV body and rear seat making it practical for passenger car use, and available in multiple colors instead of only black. It also was a limited production model, however, with 2,497 built in 1992 and 2,000 in 1993.
With only 7,495 produced in three years, the Syclone and Typhoon were halo cars that succeeded wildly and immediately created a tremendous reputation, but which GM soon chose to cancel and make into dead ends. Whether they would have been successful long term models is debatable, as is whether work-oriented GMC rather than Chevrolet was the right division to market them. There is an argument that carving out a niche as the leader in high performance all wheel drive vehicles during the SUV craze of the 1990s could have created a distinct and profitable identity for either GMC or Chevrolet, offering a domestic, truck-based equivalent to Audi’s Quattro sport sedans.
As it happened, the Syclone and Typhoon became short-lived aberrations with an enthusiastic following, much like the Buick Grand National. One of the original owners of the Syclone as a new car in 1991 was Jay Leno, then a successful comedian but not yet Johnny Carson’s successor as full-time host of The Tonight Show, whose motorcycle and car craziness was not yet nationally known or sustained by a seemingly infinite budget. As he explains in the video, the Syclone was the hottest and most talked-about car in the country then, so he had to get one. The appeal of the Syclone and Typhoon continues today even though many recent cars have exceeded their performance level. With their turbocharged engines modifiable to well over 500 horsepower to give quarter mile times of 10 seconds or less, they will never cease to be exciting vehicles.
The recently found Syclone is the first that I have seen in many years, and it appears to be a well maintained occasional daily driver and weekend warrior. Original compact bumpers and body cladding, with a piece broken from the right front in a minor impact; original wheels, although missing their center caps; and slightly faded but clean paint with no visible rust make it a solid and complete example with some honest wear. The driver kept it parked as far away as possible from other cars in the parking lot, to help keep it in this condition.
I call this Syclone a possible weekend warrior because there are indications that it sees drag racing use. A vanity license plate reading “HL SHOT” is partly visible in the rear bumper. The cab has the trendy accessory of a gauge cluster on the driver’s side A-pillar. If the owner added these details with good reason, then he has what must be a rare ride, one of the 2,998 Syclones that is still both driven regularly on the street and drag raced.
Photo from auto.dmir.ru
I remember the Syclone and Typhoon as the vehicles that I coveted the most just after graduating from college, when I had no hope of actually being able to buy one, and the passage of time has added another reason that makes them appealing. The Syclone and Typhoon are now-classic muscle machines that are uniquely useful, one as a small pickup truck, the other as a small wagon. I have found it far easier to justify to myself owning a classic car that can work as a cargo hauler on Saturday and then raise hell on Sunday than one that can only raise hell, and the creation of countless classic pickup trucks powered by big block or LSx engines shows that many people have the same idea. The low payload ratings of the Syclone (500 pounds) and Typhoon (900 pounds) may limit their utility, but they are still good for the light-duty work that represents most actual use, and the all weather capability of their all wheel drive is a further bonus. An equally good condition survivor of the 7,495 Syclones and Typhoons with a “For Sale” sign on it, an unlikely find, would be difficult to pass up.
Boy, GM just couldn’t do anything right back then, could they?
even when they did it right, they did it wrong.
I know right, no other company has EVER made a limited run specialty product for a short time period and then stopped making said product…what they should have done was make a million of these and then given them away to everyone who wanted one…..
I think they mean that GMC made a sweet ass product that people wanted, and they left a SHIT TON of cash on the table by dropping it. Ma Mopar has a history of making specialty products for a limited time, but when they close one door, they open another. Rumble Bee gives way to Daytona, gives way to SRT-10 gives way to a whole SRT division. There was a 10th anniv Rumble Bee concept a while back. Never made production, but it keeps people interested.
The problem here is that GM has too many sacred cows. How DARE a v6 G body or a lowly little minitruck upstage the mighty corvette? Instead of making a better corvette to keep that halo bright and shiny, they killed off some revolutionary products. Bringing one thing down doesn’t make another better.
Jeez, they couldn’t even spell the name right! 😉
I know right? Everyone knows its Psyclone…….duh!
Just don’t extend the line of humor into any references to Psy and “Gangnam Style” … I was already tired of that over a year ago! 🙂
We probably have the late Mercury and its use of the Cyclone name to thank for the spelling of Syclone.
I thought the chorus of that song was “OPEN CONDOM STYLE” for the longest time. I figured it must have been some kind of Engrish translation of “pulling out”.
Hey, sixty ladies!
We all know that if it they had made it mass-market this site would consider it a deadly sin because of the crude interior and handling along with questionable quality. But of course the shortcomings are easy to overlook when there’s an opportunity to pile on GM from another angle.
These were rare even when new (with 7,000 spread out across the country they’d have to be.) The early 90s was when I was getting my license and heading off to college and I can only remember seeing 2 at car shows and 1 in real life.
I’m sure I saw one smoke a Roadrunner at Avon Park?(Stratford upon Avon the dragstrip changed names a few times).Honda did a similar trick with the 400/4, a great bike which had good test write ups and was swept under the carpet after a couple of years!
A dragstrip at Stratford upon Avon? Now I have somewhere interesting to go if my wife wants to visit the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Funny that you mention the Honda 400/4 – I rode a borrowed 1970s 400F Super Sport 25 years ago and almost bought it. Incredible little bike, which I should have bought and held onto, seeing that they have become very popular recently as custom café racers.
Probably the best motorcycle Honda ever made. I still want one. And they’ve been collector’s items from about ten minutes after the last one left the assembly line.
Selling them in the UK makes sense that was the home of the fastest GM car also, the Vauxhall lotus Carlton Elite that ONLY a Testarossa could out run at top speed, How would the Vauxhall fare against the Syclone?
The Syclone / Typhoon would never have had a chance here . LHD only, big sticker and a comedy interior, that made the rather low rent Carlton interior look like it was a product of Crewe, would have been enough to seal its fate.
A Syclone would have a Lotus Carlton to 70 mph or so and then the Carlton would disappear into the horizon, if it didn’t break first, which they did , often, expensively.
Any car which pisses off the Daily Mail scores points with me.Remember the outraged readers when the Lotus Carlton was announced?I don’t think I’ve seen more than 3 in the metal
A beautiful find, but I’m not sure those are the “original wheels, although missing their center caps.”
The wheels on the featured Syclone appear to be from a Corvette: Look closely at the six openings of the wheels featured in the ad. There’s not a “split” in each of the six openings on the well, as there are on the wheels on the featured truck.
ZR-1 wheels, if memories serves me right. They look good on the Syclone too.
I think that the two of you are right. I thought that the wheels looked like they were from a Corvette. On closer examination, they look slightly wider than the stock Syclone wheels; they may have been a low-buck, close-to-stock approach to fitting wider wheels and tires.
Yep, those are Corvette wheels.
I’m a fan of updated factory alloys over aftermarket wheels all day (for the reason the author demonstrated, they look good without looking tacked on) I’ve never seen any Corvette wheels on an S10, surprisingly sharp.
As good as these early C4 turbines look, now I now want to see one with the beautiful updated 90’s ones, they’d look damn good on a Cyclone too.
That Syclone doesn’t have stock wheels. The picture of the Typhoon does. The SyTy wheels were offset. I’m not being cocky, but I own Sy #2065. And it is quick!
Addendum:
2 Piece Offset Wheels
I was working for an Olds/GMC/Honda dealer when the Syclone came out. I took the first (only?) one we got for a 20 minute test drive. That thing was seriously fast.
This one was at Jefferson last September.
Re the bottom pic: It looks kind of dorky with a topper.
Alas, in my opinion all trucks look dorky with a topper, although I understand their place in the world.
Aerodynamics on the strip?
If it was that, I’d think it’d have one of those sloped Euro-style toppers.
Drop the tailgate.
Finally, someone else who doesn’t call it a “camper shell”! Sorry, everyone else, but if you can’t stand up straight in it, it’s a “topper”.
I just call it a “cap”.
I’ve never heard topper before. Camper shell seems pretty common among older folks around these parts, but most people I know just call it a cap. The slide in camper RV units I call just “campers” though.
Yes, those are campers. The 6-foot-tall upholstered aluminum…thing that came installed on the ’79 F-250 when my father bought it in ’97, that was a camper too, I guess. For all the 5 weeks we had it.
We put a card table and some lawn chairs in it; it was a place for my sister and I to sit and color or read Highlights when Dad took us up to George’s farm 9 miles from home.
After we took the …thing out we put in a plywood toolbox Dad had made in shop and found a red tailgate. We always knew the truck because it was the only “three-tone” one in the parking lot, and the little clumps of blue outdoor carpet still stuck to the inside of the bed.
Well back in the day they were called camper shells because they were usually built in the same manner as campers, lacked any interior finish and was an option for those who might want to build out their own interior. Nowadays they are used to keep things locked and/or out of the weather and around here they are pretty much universally called canopies and the business that sell them often use that term in their name.
My grandfather had one either on or close by for every pickup he owned since his ’49 Chevy, and luckily he had two strong-ish sons to take it on and off for him every year.
So a topper on a pickup is instant “grandpa” status for me, provided it’s also a RCLB 4×2 half-ton model, probably with the small V8 and auto, and gets driven less than 1.5K a year, if that. Grandpa’s ’97 F-150 bought new has 15K miles on it and outlasted him.
I want one. Although I bleed Blue Oval when cut, after 28yrs in the marine business, I have a serious soft spot for the Chevrolet 4.3V6. Great marine engine, pretty damn smooth after they added the balance shaft. And I was peed when they discontinued the Bowtie aluminum heads for these. 🙁
Interesting car. Look at a Cayenne Turbo or Range Rover Sport and you can sort of see where this might have ended up, although it’s more of an El Camino demographic type of vehicle. Why was this dropped?
My thoughts exactly. I was considering mentioning those sport SUVs and also the Mercedes G55 AMG as examples of what the Syclone/Typhoon could have evolved into over the course of the past two decades.
I have not been able to find any authoritative information on why GMC dropped the Syclone/Typhoon, but I suspect that it just didn’t fit into any GM marketing plan. They certainly did not fit into GMC’s usual product line and image, so GMC management may not have been seriously committed to it from the beginning. In the larger GM picture, Chevrolet may not have liked them, since they upstaged the Corvette ZR-1.
Thanks Robert. The more I look at this, and consider the hot ute market here in oz with the HSV Maloo and FPV Typhoon, this is like those crossed with the equally desirable (but not as warmed) Hilux.
Your mentioning the Australia market brings up another point that I was thinking about: the export potential of the Syclone/Typhoon. The Typhoon could have had worldwide appeal, and in Australia with its big market for utes, the Syclone could have had an impact as well. The S-10/S-15 was about the same size as the Jeep Cherokee, which was a huge export success partly because of its reasonable size, which was intentionally made small enough to be a mainstream vehicle in Europe. The great press received internationally by the Syclone would have helped greatly as well. I can easily see the Syclone/Typhoon having become a big hit as a niche vehicle worldwide.
GMHoldens didnt have a ute on the market when these were built, BUT the not invented here would have held them back, the Burban was badged Holden and failed so cold feet maybe.
The S-10 would have been competing with the Japanese pickups including the Isuzu-sourced Holden Rodeo, which had a 2.6L 4-cyl as the top engine at the time.
The VG Commodore ute was introduced in late 1990, with a 3.8 V6 or 5.0 V8, 5sp manual trans was available.
It was a limited run product intended to generate attention to GMC, which for several years, starting in the mid 80’s had been trying to change its image of just being a Chevrolet with a different grille while trying to also get rid of the “truck and bus” division vibe.
It stared in 1985 or so when GMC started using the “GMC Truck” naming scheme and the debuted the tag line, “Its not just a truck anymore” playing into the expanding personal use pick up market, GMC management wanted to associate the name more with fun and luxury trucks rather than dump trucks, by 1988 GMC came out its first concept car in years, rather a concept truck, the GMC Centaur.
The idea that GMC was “a little different” was later enforced by specialty trucks like Syclone and Typhoon, and then the special luxury edition versions of the Jimmy and Yukon that debuted in the late 90’s, the Envoy and the Denali.
That Centaur looks like its referencing the Motorama trucks. There’s a guy using your name on the site I just checked. Seems as knowledgable as you, too.
Really? Where?
Autos of… Had another look and recognised some more CCers. Hoydens.
Oh yeah, thats a me…..I like that site, you could spend hours getting lost in there, lots of prototype and concept stuff.
Don’t tell me that…
Very good article.
In late ’93 I had a front row seat to a race between one of these and a rather new Corvette. It was on I-270 in St Louis. He ‘Vette had a devastating loss.
Terrific find.
These suckers were fast, I have had some first hand knowledge with them, the Pontiac-GMC dealer that I worked at was a Syclone/Typhoon “hub”, we had one of the best “Scyphoon” techs anywhere, and people would bring them in from all around, I’ve seen most of the colors that the Typhoon was available in, even the bright aqua and dark green, which is pretty rare. I got to drive an all white one we had once on the lot, under a boost launch, these things take off so violently they shoot the coin tray/ash tray out of the dash completely!
Not only did Leno have one of these, but so did Clint Eastwood. We also serviced a good number of turbocharged 20th anniversary Trans Am’s too, we delivered the one that Emerson Fittipaldi got for winning the Indy 500, that car went down to his house in Brazil, but he like the turbo TA so much, he ordered another one from Pontiac to keep at his house in Miami. Never saw the man himself, but I did see his Trans Am in service every once in a while.
Carmine,
It sounds like you have as much first-hand exposure to the Syclone/Typhoon as anyone around. Your knowledge of the history of GMC’s 1980s marketing strategy shift as well makes you the right person to bounce a question off of.
Why didn’t GMC expand its plans for the Syclone/Typhoon line after making such an immediate huge impact with it? Did they make unfavorable sales projections after the first-year hype wore off, making it unlikely to generate much of a profit, despite the amount of public and press interest?
In hindsight, it looks like GMC created but abandoned a new category, high-performance SUVs, that 20 years later has become high-end and quite profitable, populated by vehicles that did not exist and no one would have anticipated in 1991: Mercedes G55 AMG, Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Range Rover Sport. With 20 years and several design generations of development, the Syclone/Typhoon concept could have evolved into an American rendition that would have out-performed all of them (it already did in 1991, with far older technology!). A Cadillac-badged version (Escalade Sport?) could have out-performed and out-blinged them as well.
Export sales were another possibly lost opportunity. The S-10/Blazer were in the same size class as the Jeep Cherokee, which was a huge sales success internationally partly because of its compact size, which was intentionally designed to make it suitable for mainstream use in Europe. Given the great press that the Syclone received overseas, a crazy American muscle truck, perhaps a Chevy-badged Typhoon, could have found a niche profitable market in Europe, Japan, Australia and other regions.
All of this is daydreaming and Monday morning (literally and figuratively) quarterbacking, of course, but they are intriguing thoughts, I think.
I think they did what they were intended to do, generate enthusiasm for GMC and to show that they could do something unique to the brand, something that just wasn’t a Chevrolet with a different grille, like any other limited production specialty car. Ford and Dodge have done the same with the Lightning and SRT-10 Rams for a couple of generations too, they come, they go.
I know that the S-truck/SUV’s were originally slated to be replaced by 1992-93, but due to tough economic times at GM in 1991, a bunch of programs were pushed back, the new S-trucks were one of them. They were pushed back to 1994, I don’t know if the whole turbo-ed 4.3 would fit in the newer S-trucks. GMC still did offer the option of (no x-fer case) AWD on the Jimmy through 1998 or so.
The Porsche, Range Rover and Mercedes SUV’s are a relatively new thing compared to the GMC, and even then, were really not talking about wildly popular cars, each of the cars you mentioned in your post are VERY expensive and VERY low production too, not really in the same realm as the “Syphoon”, remember back when these cars were cancelled there wasn’t even a 4 door version of the Yukon, it was still just the big 2 door Yukon until 1995 when the 4 doors came out.
Interestingly enough, the ingredients to make this car do exist again, GMC is coming out with an all new Canyon for 2015, GM does have the 420hp twin turbocharged 3.6 V6 from the V-sport range of Cadillacs and AWD from the same Cadillacs….hmmmmm…….
The more things change… the current Colorado/Canyon was meant to debut a couple of years ago too
Though I think this delay was to “Americanzie” the Colorado/Canyon twins compared to the “softer” global styling of the truck for more Murrrican tastes.
I’ve been wondering for a few years now if we’d ever find a genuine curbside Syclone/Typhoon. Congratulations; and an excellent write-up.
Thank you, Paul. I am still on the hunt for a Buick Grand National, to complete the story of GM all-black turbo muscle cars of my youth. The last time that I saw one parked on the street was probably in the 1990s, so I consider a street sighting to be unlikely, but I expect to find one in Sweden eventually.
Interesting. I’ve seen a handful of GN’s on the street in the past few years, one as recently as 2012. So you might get lucky, or not, depending on your location!
Never a GNX though.
Grand Nationals are getting harder to spot as time goes by but I still manage to see at least one once a week. I always keep an eye on them hoping I see my 1986 GN.
I saw one sitting at a red light in traffic somewhere between Nashville and Tallulah Falls, GA on a trip in 2009. Haven’t seen one since–even at a show.
My dad worked for GM and they had a Syclone at an event at his factory in the early 90s. I remember being awed that it was faster than the Corvette. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on the road.
Did you ever own J84 EGT? I can’t bring myself to check DVLA on that.
I always thought the Sy/Ty were cool. Would see one race at the dragstrip occasionally, but so long ago I don’t remember how they actually fared. Many people I talk to don’t even remember them, in which case I describe them as “A Dodge Stealth R/T with a truck body.”
The fact that the Sy/Ty could shame a Corvette probably had something to do with their demise, much like the Buick GN.
Why didn’t I buy one of these when I bought a new S10 Blazer in 1991? Oh, yea, ’cause it was almost $10,000 more than the funny looking station wagon I bought.
Always thought these were pretty sweet.
I live in the UK and have had five Typhoons since the late 90s .I still have two.
Quite a few were sold new in Germany, very few in the UK. They are great fun ,but rather crap.just like the truck they were based on. These would never have been a contender in Europe as the shocking interior (even by ’91 ’92 standards) and the rather rubbish dynamics would have made them an absolute non starter with the sticker price that they would have had to have been retailed at.
GM went to the trouble of engineering and building RHD late 90s Blazers and they were sold here for a couple of years but the market was not impressed and sales were dismal.
Did they hold up? Or did they tear up in short order?????
Most Syclones / Typhoons I have known / owned have all needed major gear box work. . I think it was marginal in this application and too many hard launches soon took their toll. In fairness , apart from a gearbox grenading on a very low milage Typhoon , I have had very few issues over the years .
I am a sensible driver and a mechanic who believes in pro active maintenance on all my cars , which has undoubtably helped me keep pain to a minimum.
One of the two I have currently has a grenaded front diff but I bought it that way. It was sold new in the UK and has had an ‘interesting’ life so I am not suprised.
Well, remember that the AWD components were designed for the more benign Astro/Safari AWD vans, where they probably weren’t going to get that much abuse. The way these things grab and just take off the line, I knew even back then, it couldn’t be healthy for the drive line. If you brake torque and launch one under full boost you can roast ALL 4 tires. None of that behavior is going to lead to a long drive train life.
And there is your answer as to why GMC dropped these after 3 years and 7K sold. These were halo models which is GM code for parts bin engineering. As I said in my replies the last time a GMC truck was a CC, I worked for a quasi GMC dealer back when these were new. While my dealer never sold one( Chevrolet dealer in all reality) we did receive all of the special tools and shop manuals for the Sy-Ty. One of the more interesting parts that we received that was not assembly line installed was a tamper proof decal that was to be placed over the “chip hole” on the ECM(EngineControlModule) which voided the warranty if the owner installed a HyperChip. And a list of parts that was not covered under the factory warranty if the owner had installed an aftermarket Hi-Po chip or other bolt on goodies. Every single transmission part was on that list. I’m sure if any Sy-Ty owner had seen that bulletin before they plunked down their hard earned scrip they would have thought long and hard over their purchase. Kind of the same crap every Subaru WRX owner has gone through at least once in their ownership. To help keep the price of these trucks down PAS(the company that converted the Sy-Ty) did not use purpose built parts. As Carmen pointed out the transfer case was from a Safari and the THM700-R4 was a stock off the shelf unit with just a “shift kit” installed. The engine used a stock long block with weak cast pistons where as the Grand National use a purpose made “turbo” piston made by Hipolite. And the drive axles were the small standard S-10 parts.These trucks were a night mare waiting to happen. I don’t think it would have made a difference if GMC had made 7K or 7 million of them. They lost money and they knew they were going to lose money. They just had a grasp on how much they wanted to lose.
And who ever does do the CC for a Buick GN better do a heck of a lot of research. As the owner of a GN I’m not going to sit back and let you butcher a perfectly good CC just because “wiki-pedia” says so. See our friend Aarons “good example” of what I mean over at Ate Up For Motor. I’m being sarcastic if you couldn’t tell. Sorry I don’t have the time or inclination to under take such a project. I would love to, though.
Thanks for the detail, I had the same question as 83marnvi and the answer is what I expected. No doubt there are better alternatives to what GMC did but they would have involved a lot more development cost and the project likely wouldn’t have happened.
On another point, the comments regarding interior quality remind me of criticism of the Mitsubishi Evo – you either want to go fast for cheap, or you want a fancy interior in a slower car. Life is full of trade-offs.
I remember reading about these when they were new but never paid much attention. It is amusing that the Typhoon version has a larger load rating, but then if it didn’t you couldn’t use all the seats!
As a side note the Typhoon name was used by the local FPV hot-rod division of Ford for the 4.0 turbo 6cyl sedan. I rode in one of those that had 575rwhp while still being just like stock to drive if you kept your foot out of it.
Carmen?
HAHA.
Is it vollgasfest ? That’s the question.
Great piece on an often-forgotten vehicle that is regardless one of the most formidable performers of the early 90’s, and a groundbreaking vehicle. I definitely see the similarities to things like the Cayenne S, Trailblazer SS, and Grand Cherokee SRT-8, though of those only the Cayenne has quite the same performance focus and numbers. 4.3 to 60 is *still* quick, it was mind-boggling in ’91. I was just a kid when these came out but I drooled over the coverage in magazines like Road & Track, and Hot Rod.
Definitely rare on the street. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a Syclone. When I was in college (’99-‘2000) someone who lived in my apartment complex had a Typhoon though, somewhat tatty but still formidable. Never did find out exactly who to talk numbers though. I’ve seen another Typhoon in Richmond recently; again, looking a little rough (probably thanks to poor-quality GM paint and plastics of the era) but one bad machine.
Found a Syclone on one my favorite Dutch US-car sites/forums. The owner rebuilt and tuned it though. It says a stock Syclone did 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.5 seconds.
More pictures here:
http://www.amerikaanseautopagina.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=58448
I worked for a guy who had a Typhoon…he ran Plaza Motors’ Body Shop in Creve Coeur MO. Cool little truck, and that thing would scoot. I never quite saw the point of it, but a neat little vehicle nonetheless.
Tough call on whether this was a blown (no pun intended) opportunity for GM or not. Probably not, considering how it was done. For starters, no one has yet mentioned the fuel mileage of these. I vaguely recall it being pretty bad, no better than something like 16 mpg (and that’s highway). With its limited payload/towing capacity (especially for a truck), it severely inhibits any practical use. It’s unlikely you could even drive one safely in the snow, a very negative attribute for an AWD vehicle.
Then there’s the fact that the full-time AWD system was on a RWD vehicle, which limited it to truck applications. It seems GM realized the limited appeal and potential development of what was a narrow niche when they switched the drivetrain over to the small S15 Jimmy for another couple years.
So, although the Syphoon was popular in the media, it’s unlikely sales were brisk enough to warrant continued production. I can’t imagine dealers being able to sell many more than what was built, at least not without steep discounts. The vehicle served its purpose by bringing attention to the GMC brand, and that was enough. If many more had been built, it surely would have went down as a failure similar to the Chevy SSR halo vehicle a decade later.
I think it was an amusing exercise whose adulation would have faded once the novelty wore off.
Wow these trucks have a turbocharged and intercooled 4.3L V6 rated at 280 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque!? The way everyone talks about these I would have thought the horsepower count would have been much higher. I see a few S-10 and Blazer Xtremes around, but those have to be body kits and graphics package and not something worthy of being better than the Typhoon and Syclone. General Motors sure made some silly moves over the past few decades, but some of them I am thankful for.
Very cools truck(s). Only remember seeing one in the flesh, the year they came out.
There’s a “working” Syclone I see occasionally in my town. Usually hauling a bed-full of what looks like flea market material. I never connected these with BMW M-edition X-3/5 or AMG M-class but it’s an interesting comparison. I saw a clean black TrailBlazer SS recently. I think GM is missing out by not offering an SS Traverse or Acadia.
A few years ago I used to see one being used as a work truck with miscellaneous building materials in the bed. Pretty sad seeing it used as such and I’m sure that if they held on to it they are kicking themselves for beating up what is now worth a lot more than a run of the mill S15 that would have done a better job of hauling junk around.
Recently, I watched a superhero cartoon that combined equal doses of nostalgia, occasionally brilliant off-kilter zaniness, and an obvious eagerness to break into big musical numbers at the slightest provocation. It was very entertaining in controlled doses, but the final episode involved the show’s creative team essentially admitting that they had taken the concept about as far as it could go.
You see why I bring this up…
For those that the regular Syclone was just too common, you could try to find one of the 10 Marlboro Syclones with T-tops that were made for a giveaway prize contest from Marlboro.
They had T-tops and were the only red Syclones ever made, plus they received a bunch of other mods and enhancements.
Rarest of the rare.
JAG NABBIT DAT MUSTA BEEN A WHOLA LOTTA MARLBRO MILES!!!!
There were also 3 Indy Syclones made for 1992, with a wild tri-color scheme, though they never paced the race, the Cadillac Allante paced for 1992. I think one of these came up for sale at the Barret Jackson auction where GM auctioned off some excess cars from their private collection.
There was also a very rare “Sonoma GT” which was a Syclone without the Syclone drivetrain. Very sharp-looking little rides — they had the unique Sunbird-style instrument panel, floor shift, roll pans, etc.
I remember the ground effects, but I never remember seeing the interior, I thought they would have had the standard “hockey stick” S-truck gauges.
I wanted (still do if I ever put it back together) that gauge cluster for my S10 Blazer. I have always hated the cluster on my truck – so damn ugly.
I think Ford exploited the market that GMC created with the S/T trucks when it released the F150 Lighting in 1993.
Not really, there was a “low tech” full size sport truck niche too, the Chevrolet 1500 454SS was more like the Lightning.
In junior high, one of the kids’ dads had a Syclone, brand new. I saw it regularly at school, and it was sharp! The family actually didn’t live to far from us, and I would frequently see it in their driveway or garage when riding my bike. That’s the only one I’ve ever seen, outside of the Chicago Auto Shows of the early ’90s.
Did you see the cell-phone on the dash?
I remember when these came out, I was in high school and the ink wasn’t even dry on my DL. Minitrucks were hot with the neon doo dads and big stereo crowd. One that could smoke muscle cars was definitely lust-worthy in those days.
To put it all in perspective, even a standard issue 2wd ‘shortie’ S-10/15 with the 4.3 was no slouch. If you had a decent exhaust, dialed in the suspension and a K&N then these were little hot rods back in the day. I used to roll with a guy that had a brand new S-10 Cameo with the 4.3/5spd and a few tweaks. He would regularly run right with the 5.0 Fox bodies of the day or beat them outright on the street.
Of course another buddy had a 70 Challenger with a 340 and a 727 with a shift kit….well NO ONE could touch that!
I wanted one of these really badly back when they were in the showrooms. I drove a 4.3 S10 Blazer so the interior didn’t bother me. My S10 was a rock solid vehicle. I had it 4 years and all I put into it out of pocket was a headlight and battery. I’ve driven 2 Syclones, one a stocker, and one that had a bored and stroked motor, along with a Ford 9 inch rear end. That thing ran 10 second 1/4 miles and it was very loud. A friend of mine was about to buy the modded one, but his wife put the kill on it. Later on, he bought one of the first SRT Grand Cherokees. Fast, but nothing like the Syclone.
Rode in one of these, once, and it was beyond memorable. To truly experience one you brake torqued until the boost peaked, then let off the brake and experienced what I think a shuttle launch was like. Absolutely amazing experience to move your head off the headrest and see the twisting of the speedo.
One day…
I thought the 1989 Dodge Dakota Shelby was the performance small pickup trailblazer from that era?
Great article and great commentaries, but it never asks what I think is a valid question: why did/does GM make these horrible self-inflicted branding issue errors?
Their constants seem to be:
1) Nothing faster than the Corvette
2) Build 5 different brand versions, but make them all the same
3) Roll out expensive high tech on Chevrolets, then transfer to the higher priced brands, and kill everything once the bugs are worked out
4) When in doubt, bring out a Cadillac version by rebadging
The sad part is that it works for them. Maybe not well, and probably not long into the future, but historically it has been their bread and butter.
Had they slapped the bow tie on these, they would have sold alongside the Corvette and Camaro. They would have been seen by more eyes, test driven by more people, and perhaps done better. A cheaper version, detuned and perhaps not 4WD would have made up for the losses incurred on the Syclone/Typhoon. Conversely, if they would have moved all Chevy trucks to the GMC brand, it may have upset a few Chevy dealers back in the late 1980s but would have worked wonders for those dealers with other franchises.
I guess at the end of the day, GM believes their own marketing. Real idiots, not actors.
I had an ’88 5.0 LX Mustang just after these came out. It didn’t have a chance.
Somewhere I still have my 1991 copy of the C&D with the cover shot of the Ferrari sitting next to a Syclone with a Confederate flag on the front and they called it the $100,000 smackdown or something like that.
Awesome to see such a clean example still being driven around. These showed that GM engineers could do really good stuff, when they are let off the leash. I remember thinking how easy it would be to make the ultimate sleeper by using the basic S10/S15 body, mini hubcaps and all. (But you’d need some kind of headrests or you’d break the rear window every time you floored it.)
One of my favorite treats at the recent LA Radwood car show was seeing not just this Syclone….
…but also this Typhoon…..
… and this Typhoon as well. All 3 within the same parking lot!! Loved seeing them.