The GMC Syclone of the early Nineties is an absolute legend in the automotive world. A modified, high-performance version of the Sonoma pickup truck with a turbocharged 4.3-liter V-6 producing 280 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, it was ludicrously quick; the Syclone could accelerate from 0-60 miles per hour in 4.3 seconds, making it the quickest-accelerating production car of 1991—even faster than a Ferrari 348. And it looked rad as hell, too—slammed close to the ground and only available in black with red graphics.
Syclones are quite rare; GMC only made it for one year, with a production run of fewer than 3,000 units. But now, you can buy a modern-day version of the Syclone—sort of. Speciality Vehicle Engineering of New Jersey has announced it will produce a run of 100 2019 Syclone sport trucks based off both two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive versions of the GMC Canyon pickup.
The 2019 Syclone’s sport suspension drops it to the ground by two inches up front and five inches in the rear. The truck will use a supercharged 455-hp 3.6-liter V-6—noted by “455HP” badging on multiple areas of the truck—along with myriad other performance upgrades, including a cat-back dual exhaust. SVE won’t make any claims about beating Ferraris, but promises the new Syclone will be “outrageously fast.”
The Syclone will also have 20-inch wheels, rocker panel extensions, a body-color grille, a numbered dash plate, and Syclone badge inside, outside, and on the key fob. It will be available in the Canyon’s full range of factory colors, though why get anything but black?
The price for these mods? Steep. The conversion costs $39,995—in addition to the price of the Canyon itself, which starts at $32,195 in 4WD form. That’s far more than what one would pay for an original Syclone in fine shape these days. (You can buy this one for $37,900, for example.)
Oh, and as for that oddly-spelled name? Turns out GMC had to use an “S” at the front because Ford held the rights to “Cyclone”—but General Motors wasn’t going to let that deter them from calling the truck what they wanted.