THE FERRARI KILLER

When it comes to elite and high-speed vehicles, brands such as Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ferrari are often top choices for car enthusiasts. However, there is a brand that stands out in the realm of speed – GMC Truck. No, that's not a typo. In the late 1980s, a revolution in performance and acceleration took place, resulting in a truck that outperformed even the likes of Ferrari 348TS and Testarossa in the quarter mile. It could go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds and match the performance of the renowned Buick Grand National GNX. This storm was embodied in the 1991 GMC Syclone, a sinister black pickup truck that made history.

The Syclone's raw performance derives from a 4.3L V6 that has been given an extra kick with the addition of a turbocharger and intercooler system. To help control that power, an AWD drivetrain was set into the frame giving the Syclone the ability to make quick work of any worthy opponent who dared to go head-to-head in a showcase of quarter-mile sprints. As if the vulgar display of power wasn't enough to cope with, the GMC Syclone was only a fraction of the cost of the supercars it was compared to with an MSRP of under $30,000.

Alas, as quickly as the storm blew in, it quickly disappeared. The Syclone only saw 1-year of production before being discontinued. Luckily, the little black truck's reputation was strong enough to spin off a secondary storm known as the GMC Typhoon which saw 2 years of production after the Syclone.

POWER STRUGGLE

So, how did the GMC Syclone become one of the most iconic sport trucks that is still referenced in today's modern automotive performance? When Kim Neilsen was put in charge as Program Manager in the Truck Division in 1985, he knew that he had to come up with something new. He felt that GM's current state of "vanilla engineering" needed something new to help kickstart better sales.  Kim was a long-time GN guy, so he decided to take the idea of a performance truck he had dreamt up in the early 80s and try to make it into a reality.

The GMC Syclone concepts began on October 27, 1987 in the art studios of GMC Truck. Under the direction Mr. Neilsen, artist William Davis drew an idea of a conceptual truck from Kim’s imagination. Based on the existing S15 platform, the concept sketch features mesh style rims, a body kit, and integrated fog lights. The finished sketch was then presented as an idea for a future production truck.

GRAND NATIONAL PERFORMANCE

During the initial discussion of building a performance sport truck, GM estimated it would take 9 years at a cost of 700 million dollars to complete the Syclone project. Neilsen put together a plan and was able to cut the time frame to just 18 months at a cost of 14.5 million. With that promise, the Syclone was given a green light to begin.

At first, it was to be determined that the trucks would utilize the same 3.8L V6 turbo from the Grand National and be set up as RWD. The initial sales price was estimated to be around $18,000. Kim noted that from the beginning, the project was a huge argument and power struggle. The GM divisions would meet, and each division would try to take over the project and run the show. No one got along, and GM corporate gave little help to the project. 

Having to buy trucks directly off the lot to design prototypes, Neilsen looked for outside help to prove that this project could be completed using outside sources. Production Automotive Services (PAS) and Triad Services would be looked upon and hired to complete the task. After all, PAS was already familiar with a turbo V6 setup vehicle as they were the same company utilized to help build the 1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am. 

During the development stage, three key prototype trucks were developed. According to Neilsen, these trucks were the McLaren truck, a red 3.8 turbo S10 that did 12s, and finally, the white prototype 1989 concept Syclone, which was showcased at the Chicago Auto Show that same year. During prototyping, employees could take trucks home and drive them around on weekends. 

"One of the GMC executive engineers borrowed a prototype built with the 3.8L turbo-charged Buick for the weekend. This prototype was scary and fast! He drives it on a Saturday night to some strip club in Dearborn Heights, and when he comes out, the truck is missing. He calls the police and Triad Services. Needless to say, we are sick. We figure the damn thing will never be seen again. On Monday, the police call, and they find it in Detroit with only the wheels, tires, and radio missing. The idiot who stole it never looked under the hood or at the MFG plate on the rear. We had it running again within hours." - Mack King, PAS Development Team 

During the same time period, Mike Christiansen, a Buick engineer from the performance division approached Buick in 1988 about putting a turbocharged 231 Grand National engine into a Chevy S-10 truck. Christiansen completed the prototype, and Buick turned the concept over to GMC Truck where Neilsen was able to take it out street racing.  Like many prototypes and test vehicles, GM ordered the truck to be destroyed. Fortunately, Christiansen was able to convince them to let him keep the truck, and it remained in his possession until he passed away on August 3, 2024.

At the time, Neilsen was also driving a Pontiac Grand Am with the Quad 4. This was also a consideration for engine options. This particular Grand Am was modified to go 12s in the quarter mile and was taken street racing quite often. But, after some number crunching, it was determined that the Quad 4 in the truck would not make sufficient horsepower and torque to get the performance numbers they wanted from the factory, which were high 12 quarter mile times.

Ultimately, GM decided to discontinue moving forward with the 3.8L turbo V6 because they believed that the warranty costs would be too high. This concern stemmed from several common issues associated with the 3.8L engines, including blown head gaskets and leaky turbo seals. Also, the 3.8L did not just drop into the S-Series frame without modification to the chassis and firewall and a reconfiguration was upcoming to the 3.8L to make it FWD capable.

"The 3.8L GN Turbo-Charged Buick engine was scheduled to be terminated in RWD configuration by GM and replaced with the current 3.8L revised block w/balance shafts, and reoriented for FWD configurations only. As a result of that decision, Triad Services was told they would have to develop their version of a turbo-charged V6 for the Syclone, thus began the development of the 4.3L turbo-charged Chevrolet V6.

The 4.3L engine block of choice was a marine version, which at that time had heavy-duty, higher-quality components than the basic production truck block. It turned out to be impossible to procure because the marine version was the most popular seller with marine outdrive manufacturers and all of the production capacity was spoken for.

If I am not mistaken, the marine block, with its more substantial lower end, would have allowed the turbo boost to be higher, which would have given the Syclone much more standard horsepower. It was decided with the truck production block that the boost would be set lower for reasons of reliability and warranty issues." - Mack King, PAS Development Team

Neilsen and his team aimed for the Syclone to achieve a 340-360 horsepower rating with approximately 425 ft-lbs of torque. Again, their vision was for the Syclone to be capable of completing a quarter mile in 12 seconds straight off the dealer showroom floor.

Once the production version of the turbocharged 4.3L V6 was ready, the advertised rating of 285HP would be used. According to Neilsen, the true rating was around 300HP and was purposely downplayed because of the Corvette. There was no way that GM was going to allow a truck to be marketed as more powerful and faster than its flagship vehicle. 

Neilsen admits that most of the numbers and quarter-mile times that were published during magazine testing are not the real numbers at all, and the trucks being used were all slightly modified to achieve the fastest times possible.  The trucks could and DID run the high 12-second numbers when the experienced PAS/Triad employees would drive the trucks to their limits. GM wanted everything purposely skewed and slower than it was. Instead, high 12-second quarter mile times went to mid to high 13 seconds. The slower times and data from the inexperienced magazine drivers were used and not what the PAS engineers could push the trucks to do.

During the development of the Syclone, the 454SS was also planning its debut with Chevy. GM made it loud and clear internally that if any comparison was to be done with the two trucks, the Syclone would LOSE, and if any photography was done with the 454SS and Syclone together, the Syclone was to be placed BEHIND the 454SS truck.

The Syclone started production on January 2, 1991.  Kim Neilsen would be reassigned and leave the Syclone program before the first truck would roll off the assembly line. When the last truck was completed on July 4, 1991, GM and PAS had built a total of 2995 GMC Syclones. It is estimated around 113 trucks were converted to Saudi Syclones and prepared for exportation to be sold overseas. 

FAST TRUCK, SLOW SALES

When the GMC Syclone finally hit the showroom floor at dealers, it was the quickest production truck made in America that you could purchase. On the streets, it had almost no competition from one streetlight to the next. With all four wheels digging into the pavement with traction, 0-60mph times put the truck into the low 4-second range. The little black truck was a force to contend with if it was a game of speed. 

The most famous example of the Syclone's track capabilities was when Car & Driver Magazine pitted it against a 1991 Ferrari 348ts in a quarter-mile race. In a nutshell, the Syclone edged out the Italian horse in all 3 races they did. This performance landed the Syclone and Ferrari parked side-by-side on the cover of the issue, called "The $96,000 Sting".

While the Syclone's raw performance was its claim to fame, it equally had some drawbacks in its capabilities. Even though the Syclone was indeed a light-duty truck, it was unable to carry out any significant truck duties. The payload capacity in the bed was limited to a mere 500 lbs due to the suspension and possible strain on the AWD drivetrain. GM claimed that towing was possible but was limited to 1500 lbs, which included the 500 lb payload capacity.  Offroading was deemed off limits with decals on the headliner reminding those who may be tempted.

Essentially, the Syclone was a truck that couldn't be used as a truck, and the idea of a "performance sport truck" wasn't a standard in 1991 with the utilitarian consumer.  During 1991, America saw a recession and was also involved in the Gulf War (Desert Storm). With an MSRP of $27,950, the Syclone was seen as a novelty vehicle. While the trucks did indeed move off the sales floor, many trucks remained unsold at dealers. By 1992, dealers who still had trucks found themselves doing heavy sales discounts to unload their remaining inventory. 

GMC did plan for a 1992 production run of the Syclone. The trucks were to receive some basic cosmetic changes, such as electric side-view mirrors and a 4-spoke steering wheel. The biggest option was that the Syclone was to be offered in more color choices such as Frost White/Gray, Red/Gray, Forest Green/Gray, and Teal/Gray. Based on sales and budget constraints, the 92 production run was canceled, and the Syclone would remain as a 1-year production truck.  GMC did follow up with the cheaper, less powerful GMC Sonoma GT and, of course, the SUV powerhouse known as the Typhoon in 1992 and 1993. 

Ultimately, the Syclone was a unique showcase of the ability from GMC to be able to design, prototype, and produce a vehicle that stood apart from its standard lineup of models. Even with only a single year in production, the Syclone has been credited with helping kickstart the modern sport truck revolution that we know on the market today.