1991 GMC Syclone Test Drive
Truck culture is big. Indeed,each year the best-selling vehicle in America is usually a pick-up, outselling the best ordinary cars by some margin. GM decided at the beginning of the 1990s that it would build the fastest and most technically complex truck ever made- just, perhaps, because it could. The Syclone was based on a standard issue FM four wheel drive truck, chosen because the drivetrain was essential for the power that GM had planned. Under the bonnet was a 4.3L V6 pushrod engine that was further boosted by a turbocharger ad intercooler. The engine’s torque figure was a remarkable 350lb/ft – more pulling strength than a Ferrari 348 could muster, even. This road ripping power was fed into the 4×4 drivetrain, which had rear differential. This modernity was in contrast to the less advanced suspension. Gm had lowered and stiffened the chassis, though. Stylists then clad the Syclone in a sexy, aggressive body kit, with very wide wheels and low profile tires. They Syclone was an extreme impressive and unusual machine, but it didn’t sell well – it cost more than a Ford Taurus SHO.
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OH YEAH 1991 GMC SYCLONE VERY FAST MUSCLE TRUCK 0-60 MPH: 4.6 SEC HAD 4.3L TURBO V6 280 HP AND 350 LB FT OF TORQUE 262 CI BASED OF 1987 BUICK GNX,1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD TURBO TRANS AM 20TH ANNIVERSARY AND LATER GMC TYPHOON
would love to see the drivetrain transplanted into a GMC Safari van! perhaps GMC Squal?
WHERE IS THE TYPHOON VID??…lol jk. Man I’m still trying to find/buy one, or a Ty, as you know it ain’t easy!
Thanks for sharing this TDJ! I’m still absolutely smitten with my Syclone (#478), even though I’ve only driven it maybe twice in the last year.
I cannot count the number of times I stupefied unsuspecting challengers back when I used to race it regularly. More times than not, the defeated driver would circle back wanting a redo while explaining to me that they’d had a bad launch, or their shift timing was off, or they couldn’t get traction, or they [add other common excuses here]. But even when I’d grant a redo, the same outcome would result. The truck’s performance is incredibly consistent–even in the rain.
In the 1/8th mile, it is simply untouchable. By the second half of the 1/4 mile, as the truck begins to succumb to its aerodynamics (or lack thereof) and friction from the AWD, the truck has usually created an insurmountable distance to buffer advances from sports cars that gain their momentum at higher speeds. In all the years I raced it, my Syclone was literally undefeated, with the exception of a motorcycle and a NOS-squeezing Camaro.
For the record, unlike the 4WD system on off-road S-series trucks, the Syclone’s is full-time (cannot be disengaged) and does not include low gears, hence the AWD designation. GMC engineers actually sourced it from GM’s AWD Astro/Safari vans, requiring only minimal modifications.
Thanks again!
Glad you liked! I hope you’ve seen it before! It’s been up for awhile! Just a re-share
Nice