1991 GMC Syclone and 92-93 Typhoon: Factory-Built All-Wheel-Drive Drag Racing Success

 

Summary

Turbocharged Performance: The Syclone and Typhoon brought turbocharged V6 power and all-wheel drive to the GMC lineup.

Buick Connection: The idea was originally developed by Buick and drew heavily from GM's successful turbocharged V6 technology.

PAS Engineering: PAS helped turn the concept into two of GM's most memorable performance trucks.

Serious Speed: These trucks could run the quarter-mile in the 13s in stock form and became even quicker with aftermarket upgrades.

Collector Status: Limited production numbers helped make the Syclone and Typhoon highly sought-after performance trucks.

Back in 1991, the dog days of the sad, slow, so-called economy-efficient sports cars were starting to come to an end. The Tuned-Port Injection (TPI) setups that General Motors was using in its sports cars were about to be replaced by a much more stout-performing LT1 350-cu.-in. engine.

But before the change, the GMC truck division of General Motors made an interesting move to get involved in some of the performance hype GM was encouraging at the time. GMC signed a contract with an aftermarket performance company called PAS (Production Automotive Systems). PAS and GMC joined forces to create two of the fastest production trucks of their time: the '91 GMC Syclone pickup truck and the '92-'93 GMC Typhoon SUV.

The PAS company was no stranger to this type of work. Pontiac called upon them to help build the now-famous.

1989 Turbo Trans Am 20th Anniversary Edition. Oddly enough, Pontiac kept it simple when building this sports car and went with what already worked for Buick by using the very successful 86 and 87 Grand National drivetrain setup. The turbocharged intercooled 3.8-liter V6 was already tormenting sports cars on the streets and at the track.

A Turbocharged Truck Was Buick's Idea

Originally, Buick came up with the idea for the turbocharged truck, but to avoid conflict with the GMC truck production branch, Buick handed the idea over to GMC. There was some hesitation to take on the project since Chevrolet already had a similar black regular-cab pickup truck on the market with a 454-cu.-in. engine.

But some forward-thinking engineers and designers saw the potential in smaller engines. Assuming Buick could make it work in a G-Body grocery-getter with much success, doing the same in a small truck and an SUV should work just as well. To nobody's surprise, it did.

Similar Buick Setup But A Bigger Engine For The Syclone and Typhoon

The PAS company engineered a 4.3-liter Vortec engine equipped with a turbocharger and an intercooler to fit in both the Syclone and the Typhoon.

To efficiently transfer engine

power to the wheels, both models would receive the four-speed 700R4 automatic transmission, the same transmission that many GM vehicles came with, including GM sports cars and the Buick turbo cars.

The First Factory-Built All-Wheel-Drive Technology Used For Drag Racing Performance

What made the Syclone and the Typhoon so unique compared to other trucks was that they used a very performance-efficient all-wheel-drive system. This technology helped these trucks, with an underrated and unofficial horsepower rating of 280, get down the quarter-mile with times that would stop the clocks somewhere in the high-to-mid 13-second range.

Since the GMC 4.3-liter turbo technology was so similar to the successful Buick 3.8-liter turbo cars, aftermarket parts dealers and car enthusiasts knew exactly what easy upgrades could be made to make these trucks amazingly performance-efficient. I've personally seen Typhoons run in the high 10-second range, while lighter Syclones could stop the clocks in the 9s.

GMC Syclone and Typhoon: Unbeatable Deal

With great gas mileage, excellent performance, and the fact that they were limited-production vehicles, the GMC Syclone and Typhoon were, and still are, collector items for car enthusiasts.

With production numbers of only 2,998 '91 Syclones, 2,500 '92 Syclones, and 2,200 '93 Typhoons built, the price tags on these rare trucks still stay in the $15,000 to $25,000 range for the ones that are still in good condition.

Unfortunately, the PAS company in Troy, MI., which was responsible for the GMC Syclone and Typhoon's engineering and design, would go out of business sometime after GM decided not to move forward with any more specialized GMC vehicles.

The decision to move forward without PAS-specialized vehicles was mostly due to the progression of the Corvettes, Camaros, and Trans Ams, along with the need to focus on new electric-vehicle technology.

That may have sounded silly back then, but now, all auto companies have moved in the electric-vehicle direction, and GM predicts that by 2035, the only vehicles it will be producing will be all-electric vehicles. We'll see how that works out!

             

Syclone and Typhoon GENERAL SPEC

Type: V6 GMT300

Disp.: 262 C.I. (4.3L)

Transmission: 700R4

Drive: All-Wheel Drive

Syclone Horsepower: 280 Horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of Torque

MPG: 17 city and 19 highway

Typhoon Horsepower: 285 Horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of Torque

MPG: 14 city and 17 highway

These Are Very Fun Vehicles To Drive And Still Hold Thier Value Very Well!