The GMC Syclone is a high-performance version of the GMC Sonomapickup truck. Produced in 1991 by GMC along with Production Automotive Services (PAS) - the same company credited with building the famed 1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am, the GMC Syclone was the quickest production truck to be produced in 1991. Following the Syclone's production, the similarly powered 1992-1993 GMC TyphoonSUV was based on the GMC Jimmy platform. Also following the Syclone, the 1992 GMC Sonoma GT truck was offered as a sport package with the looks of a Syclone but without the price and performance of its turbocharged predecessor. Only 806 Sonoma GTs were produced.
The GMC Syclone, Typhoon, and Sonoma GT were built by GMC and PAS (Production Automotive Services) of Troy, Michigan, and sold through dealerships. At the time it was introduced, the Syclone was the fastest stock pickup truck being produced in the world. Auto magazines compared its acceleration favorably to a variety of sports cars including the Chevrolet Corvette and - in a memorable comparison test in Car and Driver magazine - a Ferrari 348 ts.[2] The Syclone features a 4.3L turbocharged 6-cylinder engine with an automatic transmission and an AWD (all-wheel drive) driveline and 4-wheel anti-lock brakes.
Both the Syclone and Typhoon trucks feature a Mitsubishi TD06-17C 8cm² turbocharger[1] and Garrett water/air intercooler attached to a 4.3 L LB4V6 engine featuring upgrades that included: hypereutectic pistons, nodular iron main caps, upgraded head gaskets, intake manifolds, exhaust manifolds, and a 48mm twin bore throttle body from the 5.7 L GM Small-Block engine. All Syclones and Typhoons had a 4L60 4-speed automatic transmission. A BorgWarner 4472 all wheel drive transfer case splits torque with 35% of power going to the front and 65% of power to the rear wheels.[1] Both trucks featured sport modifications to the standard suspensions. The Syclone was the first production truck to receive a 4-wheel anti-lock braking system.[3] With this engine, the Syclone produces 280 hp (209 kW) and 350 lb⋅ft (475 N⋅m) of torque.[1] The Syclone, when new, was capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.3 seconds and could do a quarter-mile run in 13.4 seconds at 98 mph (158 km/h) according to Car & Driver's comparison test.
The Syclone and Typhoon's gauge cluster is the same one as used in the Pontiac Sunbird Turbo, which was discontinued in 1990, one year before the Syclone was introduced.
The 1991 Syclone was only available in black. For the upcoming 1992 production, a wider range of colors was to be offered however the Syclone was canceled before full production could begin. In total, 2,998 Syclones were built.[4] Out of the 2998, only 3 were built in 1992. The #0001 1992 Syclone was used for DOT crash testing while the remaining 2 are privately owned.
Saudi SycloneEdit
During the 1991 Syclone production, roughly 150 Syclones were officially exported by GMC. Out of the 150 trucks, there were an estimated 113 destined for resale in the Middle East and were modified with a metric dash cluster, leaded fuel chip, and a resonator in place of the catalytic converter. These 113 trucks were shipped to Saudi Arabia to be sold as Export Sales. These 113 trucks were known as the Saudi Syclones.[5] Not all of the exported Saudi Syclones were sold immediately overseas. Out of the 113 Saudi Syclones, 31 trucks remained unsold and were eventually brought back to the United States. Rather than selling the 31 trucks to the public, GMC Truck Division set up a lottery where employees could enter their name to be drawn to have the chance at purchasing a Saudi Syclone as a significantly reduced price ($12,500) and had to take delivery through a dealership. It is alleged that not many employees knew of the lottery to purchase one of the Saudi Syclones, so almost everyone who entered got the chance to buy one, which upset a lot of GM employees in various other divisions who felt they missed out. The remaining 69 trucks were distributed throughout Europe for sale where a small number ended up in a German compound for sometime. GMC, desperate to be rid of them, sold them on a "make us an offer" basis. Lucky purchasers managed to get hold of one for a few thousand dollars under their market value.
In 2009, a poor-condition GMC Syclone was scrapped under the U.S. federal government Car Allowance Rebate System (a.k.a. "cash for clunkers"), despite being highly collectible.[6]
Special editionsEdit
There were two special-edition 1991 Syclones offered by third parties:
Marlboro SycloneEdit
The 1991 Marlboro Syclone
The special-edition Marlboro Syclone was the grand prize for the ten winners of The Marlboro Racing '92 Contest. To enter the sweepstakes, a form was filled out which included a questionnaire. All ten trucks were provided to American Sunroof Company (ASC), by Shinoda Design Associates, Inc., in conjunction with Phillip Morris, Inc. With the help of Larry Shinoda, designer of the Corvette Stingray and Boss Mustang, a transformation of the originally black Syclones took place.[1] All 10 of the Marlboro Syclones were part of the production 2995 unit-built Syclones built in 1991 and started life as a standard black production truck Syclone.[7]
Bell Tech suspension which lowered the truck by three inches
The 10 grand prize winners of the Marlboro Sweepstakes not only won a 1991 GMC Syclone Marlboro Edition truck, but were treated to an all expenses paid day of racing alongside the Indy racing team and pit crew with a VIP access and tours, pit passes, photo session with the Marlboro Indy team, and a prize pack full of various Marlboro apparel. After the raffle had taken place and the trucks claimed by the winners, Phillip Morris had each truck delivered to an allocated dealership nearest to each winner’s residence. The winners were responsible for luxury taxes and fees.
Indy Syclone & PPG SycloneEdit
PPG Syclone Pace Truck
Three Indy Syclones were used at the Indianapolis 500 race on May 24, 1992 with the only modifications being a sticker package. One of these Indy trucks was later converted into the PPGSyclone Pace Truck (though it was not the official pace car) with significant modifications to be used on the track, including a multi-colored silver, magenta, and aqua paint scheme, and a molded in light bar in the roof, a racing fuel cell a built in halon fire suppression system, water cooled brakes, and color matched leather interior to the exterior paint scheme. The bed has a multi piece tonneau cover that accordion folds with the tailgate to reveal the fuel cell, batteries, and halon canister mounts. The PPG Syclone[8] was retired to the GM Heritage Collection where it was stored and occasionally taken out for car shows until it was auctioned at Barrett Jackson in 2009, selling for $66,000. It is now privately owned, last location known to be in Colorado.
ReferencesEdit
^ abcdefghijkJeff Koch. "Smokin' Syclone". Hemmings Motor News. Retrieved January 31, 2006.
^"GMC Syclone – 1991 PPG Pace Truck – PPG Pace Cars". Retrieved 2021-01-09.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to GMC Syclone.
October 20, 2023
syclone, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2018, learn,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources GMC Syclone news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The GMC Syclone is a high performance version of the GMC Sonoma pickup truck Produced in 1991 by GMC along with Production Automotive Services PAS the same company credited with building the famed 1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am the GMC Syclone was the quickest production truck to be produced in 1991 Following the Syclone s production the similarly powered 1992 1993 GMC Typhoon SUV was based on the GMC Jimmy platform Also following the Syclone the 1992 GMC Sonoma GT truck was offered as a sport package with the looks of a Syclone but without the price and performance of its turbocharged predecessor Only 806 Sonoma GTs were produced GMC SycloneOverviewManufacturerGeneral Motors and PASProduction1991 2 995 produced 1992 3 producedBody and chassisLayoutFront engine four wheel driveRelatedGMC Typhoon GMC Sonoma GT GMC Jimmy Chevrolet S 10 Blazer GMC Sonoma Chevrolet S 10 Oldsmobile BravadaPowertrainEngine4 3 L LB4 turbo V6 1 Transmission4 speed 4L60 automatic 1 DimensionsWheelbase108 3 in 2 751 mm 1 Length180 5 in 4 585 mm 1 Width68 2 in 1 732 mm 1 Height60 0 in 1 524 mm 1 Curb weight3521 lb 1597 kg Contents 1 Production run 1 1 Saudi Syclone 2 Special editions 2 1 Marlboro Syclone 2 2 Indy Syclone amp PPG Syclone 3 References 4 External linksProduction run EditThe GMC Syclone Typhoon and Sonoma GT were built by GMC and PAS Production Automotive Services of Troy Michigan and sold through dealerships At the time it was introduced the Syclone was the fastest stock pickup truck being produced in the world Auto magazines compared its acceleration favorably to a variety of sports cars including the Chevrolet Corvette and in a memorable comparison test in Car and Driver magazine a Ferrari 348 ts 2 The Syclone features a 4 3L turbocharged 6 cylinder engine with an automatic transmission and an AWD all wheel drive driveline and 4 wheel anti lock brakes Both the Syclone and Typhoon trucks feature a Mitsubishi TD06 17C 8cm turbocharger 1 and Garrett water air intercooler attached to a 4 3 L LB4 V6 engine featuring upgrades that included hypereutectic pistons nodular iron main caps upgraded head gaskets intake manifolds exhaust manifolds and a 48mm twin bore throttle body from the 5 7 L GM Small Block engine All Syclones and Typhoons had a 4L60 4 speed automatic transmission A BorgWarner 4472 all wheel drive transfer case splits torque with 35 of power going to the front and 65 of power to the rear wheels 1 Both trucks featured sport modifications to the standard suspensions The Syclone was the first production truck to receive a 4 wheel anti lock braking system 3 With this engine the Syclone produces 280 hp 209 kW and 350 lb ft 475 N m of torque 1 The Syclone when new was capable of accelerating from 0 60 mph 97 km h in 4 3 seconds and could do a quarter mile run in 13 4 seconds at 98 mph 158 km h according to Car amp Driver s comparison test The Syclone and Typhoon s gauge cluster is the same one as used in the Pontiac Sunbird Turbo which was discontinued in 1990 one year before the Syclone was introduced The 1991 Syclone was only available in black For the upcoming 1992 production a wider range of colors was to be offered however the Syclone was canceled before full production could begin In total 2 998 Syclones were built 4 Out of the 2998 only 3 were built in 1992 The 0001 1992 Syclone was used for DOT crash testing while the remaining 2 are privately owned Saudi Syclone Edit During the 1991 Syclone production roughly 150 Syclones were officially exported by GMC Out of the 150 trucks there were an estimated 113 destined for resale in the Middle East and were modified with a metric dash cluster leaded fuel chip and a resonator in place of the catalytic converter These 113 trucks were shipped to Saudi Arabia to be sold as Export Sales These 113 trucks were known as the Saudi Syclones 5 Not all of the exported Saudi Syclones were sold immediately overseas Out of the 113 Saudi Syclones 31 trucks remained unsold and were eventually brought back to the United States Rather than selling the 31 trucks to the public GMC Truck Division set up a lottery where employees could enter their name to be drawn to have the chance at purchasing a Saudi Syclone as a significantly reduced price 12 500 and had to take delivery through a dealership It is alleged that not many employees knew of the lottery to purchase one of the Saudi Syclones so almost everyone who entered got the chance to buy one which upset a lot of GM employees in various other divisions who felt they missed out The remaining 69 trucks were distributed throughout Europe for sale where a small number ended up in a German compound for sometime GMC desperate to be rid of them sold them on a make us an offer basis Lucky purchasers managed to get hold of one for a few thousand dollars under their market value In 2009 a poor condition GMC Syclone was scrapped under the U S federal government Car Allowance Rebate System a k a cash for clunkers despite being highly collectible 6 Special editions EditThere were two special edition 1991 Syclones offered by third parties Marlboro Syclone Edit nbsp The 1991 Marlboro SycloneThe special edition Marlboro Syclone was the grand prize for the ten winners of The Marlboro Racing 92 Contest To enter the sweepstakes a form was filled out which included a questionnaire All ten trucks were provided to American Sunroof Company ASC by Shinoda Design Associates Inc in conjunction with Phillip Morris Inc With the help of Larry Shinoda designer of the Corvette Stingray and Boss Mustang a transformation of the originally black Syclones took place 1 All 10 of the Marlboro Syclones were part of the production 2995 unit built Syclones built in 1991 and started life as a standard black production truck Syclone 7 Marlboro Syclone custom features include 1 ASC converted the roof to a targa style roof panel with mounts in the pick up bed ASC installed a slide down rear window assembly Guidon hard tonneau cover Boyd Coddington Cobra wheels with Marlboro emblem center caps and Goodyear Eagle GS C tires PPG Hot Licks Red paint with white strobe stripes provided by Graphik Concepts Recaro leather seats with Simpson 5 Point racing harness Custom MOMO Evolution steering wheel Sony sound system PROMPaq performance chip and Borla stainless steel exhaust Bell Tech suspension which lowered the truck by three inchesThe 10 grand prize winners of the Marlboro Sweepstakes not only won a 1991 GMC Syclone Marlboro Edition truck but were treated to an all expenses paid day of racing alongside the Indy racing team and pit crew with a VIP access and tours pit passes photo session with the Marlboro Indy team and a prize pack full of various Marlboro apparel After the raffle had taken place and the trucks claimed by the winners Phillip Morris had each truck delivered to an allocated dealership nearest to each winner s residence The winners were responsible for luxury taxes and fees Indy Syclone amp PPG Syclone Edit nbsp PPG Syclone Pace TruckThree Indy Syclones were used at the Indianapolis 500 race on May 24 1992 with the only modifications being a sticker package One of these Indy trucks was later converted into the PPG Syclone Pace Truck though it was not the official pace car with significant modifications to be used on the track including a multi colored silver magenta and aqua paint scheme and a molded in light bar in the roof a racing fuel cell a built in halon fire suppression system water cooled brakes and color matched leather interior to the exterior paint scheme The bed has a multi piece tonneau cover that accordion folds with the tailgate to reveal the fuel cell batteries and halon canister mounts The PPG Syclone 8 was retired to the GM Heritage Collection where it was stored and occasionally taken out for car shows until it was auctioned at Barrett Jackson in 2009 selling for 66 000 It is now privately owned last location known to be in Colorado References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k Jeff Koch Smokin Syclone Hemmings Motor News Retrieved January 31 2006 Car and Driver Sept 1991 sportmachines com Huizenga Paul 27 February 2018 Storm on the Horizon Tracing Today s Super SUV Origins Driving Line Nitto Tire Retrieved 19 December 2019 Strohl Daniel 2016 03 07 Faster than a Corvette GMC s Syclone sport truck celebrates a quarter century Hemmings Daily American City Business Journals Archived from the original on 2019 03 27 1991 GMC Saudi Syclone Edition International SyTy Registry 2020 04 26 Retrieved 2021 01 09 Hardigree Matt Feb 2 2010 Morons Clunkerize Rare GMC Syclone Super Truck Jalopnik Retrieved 2010 02 02 1991 GMC Syclone Marlboro Edition International SyTy Registry 2020 04 06 Retrieved 2021 01 09 GMC Syclone 1991 PPG Pace Truck PPG Pace Cars Retrieved 2021 01 09 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to GMC Syclone Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title GMC Syclone amp oldid 1162258998, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
