1992 GMC SONOMA GTX CONCEPT
Decked out in bright raspberry red and lowered three inches in the back and one inch lower than stock up front, the 1992 Sonoma GTX concept is essentially a sport side Syclone. The GTX shares the Syclone’s turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 (utilizing twin stainless-steel exhausts) and all-wheel-drive system but is fitted with a composite cargo box with flared fenders. Delco electric shocks dampen suspension movement while a heads-up display, including turbo boost gauges, allows the driver to keep eyes focused forward.
Excerpt from AutoWeek 5.11.29
But the Gobi is a bit too radical a departure for the near term. A sure thing for the showroom is a version of GMC’s Sonoma GTX Sportside that is on the auto-show circuit this year.
To use GMC’s words, the compact-size Sonoma GTX “is the latest expression of its goal of translating automobile high-performance technology-oriented engineering, comfort and convenience features and overall safety in light-duty trucks.”
There is a growing similarity in what customers want in an automobile and in a personal-use truck, according to GMC Truck general manager, Lewis Campbell:
“We can see the day, just a few years in the future, when almost every high-tech ‘car-like’ comfort, convenience, and safety item will also be available on every personal-use GMC truck.”
The Sonoma GTX Sportside, as its full name indicates, has a sportside cargo bed, a style which is currently not offered on any production compact. There’s also a front air dam with integrated fog lamps, a recessed grille, and a rear spoiler integrated with the tailgate. The truck’s unusual (for a truck) raspberry color will be available on some future GMC trucks. The production version of the Sonoma GTX will arrive in the 1994 model year.
Not much information is available on the Sonoma GTX other than these pictures and magazine write-ups. Due to the Sonoma GTX never entering production, it is uncertain whether this truck may still exist or if it was destroyed and scraped by GM after PAS went out of business. If you have any information or pictures to share of the Sonoma GTX, please contact us!
