GMC
Syclone

Why it matters

The Syclone was a factory-built sport pickup that combined a turbocharged V6 with all-wheel drive and a lowered S-series body. It was marketed as quicker than a Corvette and gave GMC a performance image distinct from Chevrolet.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Photos

Exterior, interior and detail photos with their licences.

• GMC Syclone (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: TKOIII · CC BY-SA 4.0
• GMC Syclone (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: TKOIII · CC BY-SA 4.0
• GMC Syclone (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: dave_7 from Lethbridge, Canada · CC BY 2.0

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

GMC showed the Syclone concept in 1989, built from a standard-cab S-15. The name is spelled with an S because Ford held the rights to "Cyclone". For production GMC replaced the concept's Grand National V6 with a turbocharged 4.3-litre V6 and added all-wheel drive with a 35/65 front/rear torque split.

GMC contracted PAS Inc. of Troy, Michigan to build the 1991 trucks from nearly finished pickups from the Shreveport, Louisiana plant. The price was above $25,000, about double a regular Sonoma. For 1992 and 1993 GMC moved on to the two-door SUV Typhoon with the same powertrain.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

All factory Syclones were black; two 1992 "Challenge Trucks" were white over grey. The turbocharged 4.3-litre V6 was unique to the truck, with a Mitsubishi TD06-17C turbocharger, Garrett water-to-air intercooler and multipoint fuel injection, and the production trucks had flares and extra cladding compared with the concept.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Mecum Auctions – 1991 GMC Syclone (lot 379605) Level B

   • 2995 1991 Syclones (lot '1 of 2,995 produced')

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   Faster than a Corvette? GMC's Syclone sport truck celebrates a quarter-century Level C Hemmings Daily · 2016-03-07

   • another 90-degree V-6: the 4.3L
   • 90-degree V-6
   • the 4.3L that already powered hundreds of thousands of S-series pickups
   • multipoint fuel injection system
   • added a Mitsubishi TD06-17C turbocharger, Garrett water-to-air intercooler
   • boost output to 280 horsepower and 360 pound-feet of torque
   • 280 horsepower and 360 pound-feet of torque
   • all-wheel-drive system using a Borg-Warner 1372/4472 transfer case
   • sub-5-second zero to 60
   • 13.4-second quarter-mile

   Accessed 2026-11-13