I was on my way to my cottage last saturday on Hwy. 10 east and stopped to a red light along side a Stang' GT. The guy was all smiles and doing the usual engine gunning and pointing through the intersection.
I think to myself i he hasnt' got a chance, as i know mt 2003 E46 runs very well.
I didn't pay any attention to the compact pickup truck to my right when the light goes green, i jump on it. I had probally about 2 - 3 C/L on the stang and to my shock the little black truck has about a car length on me and walking !
I go through the gears , i don't begin to creep up on the truck untill we hit about 120, but it was to late then, we were approaching the next light.
The Guy in the Stang had long backed off to avoid further embarasment, but the guy in the little black truck simply smiles and makes a right turn....
I killed the stang GT easily but got my Butt handed to me in a truck bed ! !
:confused
I couldnt believe it....the only thing that caught my eye was the word
" Syclone" on the tail gate. I got to the cottage and looked it up in a google search and discovered this Turbo truck runs 0 to 60 times in the 4.7 second average range, and runs 12 second quarters.
Any one have any experience with these ?

( See image below:)

http://www.hashmarks.com/photos/gssy.jpg

damn. i always think its so funny when a car like that is so quick. its like who ever thought of a truck makin those times. that is the definition of sleeper :D

I have heard this happen a few times. People aren't really aware of the power that these trucks have. I see a Syclone and Typhoon around occassionally and they are definitely sleepers. Plus they are pretty light. I don't know what motor they run or what turbo, but GM did a legit job with them. Anybody have any information on the motor and turbo?

Basically, it's a grand national with a bigger engine, and a bigger body.

4.3 liter turbo V6.


Very very very respectable.

Sleepers they are indeed. I wasnt' expecting to see a truck accelerate so quick. From the search i made online there seem to be a big number of clubs, drag support, and mods for these. The thoughts scare me though as they are still pickup trucks, and obviously handle like trucks in the turns.
Regardless the straight line performance is impressive.

those syclone are one bad a$$ truck. I use to own one a few years back. The are great red light bandits but up top it has the aero dynamics of a brick with the top speed of 126 mph and even that is preety hard to get to. they where only made for one year 1991 and produced about 2000. it's brother the typhoon was made until 1993(i think that was the last year) .I am sure if the race went a little longer you would have killed him up top. I love there slogan
" 0-60 in 4.3 sec in the rain"

Sleepers they are indeed. I wasnt' expecting to see a truck accelerate so quick. From the search i made online there seem to be a big number of clubs, drag support, and mods for these. The thoughts scare me though as they are still pickup trucks, and obviously handle like trucks in the turns.
Regardless the straight line performance is impressive.

I drove one of these for about 3 weeks when my car was being worked on. It was quick, but honestly it was one of the biggest piece of sh** I have ever driven. The thing was literally falling apart.

I drove one of these for about 3 weeks when my car was being worked on. It was quick, but honestly it was one of the biggest piece of sh** I have ever driven. The thing was literally falling apart.
This statement is true of any early '90 GM product.

Scyclones and Typhons are truely classic sleepers. GM didn't bolt turbos to alot of engines, but when they did they did it right.

Most of those trucks today have some sort of mod done by now, so I say noble death to the M.

Besides being a 4.3L turbo motor, these trucks are also AWD which caused him to get such a big jump off the line.

I drove one of these for about 3 weeks when my car was being worked on. It was quick, but honestly it was one of the biggest piece of sh** I have ever driven. The thing was literally falling apart.

Yeah, pretty much all GM vehicles that age are falling apart. I own a 93 s-10 Blazer. They might be junk, but it will sure keep my BMW in good condition, the Blazer being my winter driver.

The typhoon and syclone are deffinately a diamond in the rough (other than being a POS at their age :confused ). My truck has the same motor 4.3L Vortech and my truck is a dog.

Stock they claimed only 280 hp and weighed 3,850 lbs. That wouldn't make for a quick vehicle. I don't believe it was AWD either.

Of course, cranking up the boost can make it into respectable competition.

The KBB on the truck is amazingly high.

Stock they claimed only 280 hp and weighed 3,850 lbs. That wouldn't make for a quick vehicle. I don't believe it was AWD either.

Of course, cranking up the boost can make it into respectable competition.

The KBB on the truck is amazingly high.

They are AWD...trust me, my friend had one. Looking at the numbers, they dont look that fast, but the numbers are very decieving. He used to beat newer trans am's in his syclone, and it was pretty much stock other than an exhaust and a drop in filter.

I know this was my first time seeing one. ( i did hear of the truck before ) it suprised me, as i was racing with the stang that day, and not expecting the "sleeper" in the opposite lane being a pickup truck that was going to kick my *$$ that day. :confused

I was on my way to my cottage last saturday on Hwy. 10 east and stopped to a red light along side a Stang' GT. The guy was all smiles and doing the usual engine gunning and pointing through the intersection.
I think to myself i he hasnt' got a chance, as i know mt 2003 E46 runs very well.
I didn't pay any attention to the compact pickup truck to my right when the light goes green, i jump on it. I had probally about 2 - 3 C/L on the stang and to my shock the little black truck has about a car length on me and walking !
I go through the gears , i don't begin to creep up on the truck untill we hit about 120, but it was to late then, we were approaching the next light.
The Guy in the Stang had long backed off to avoid further embarasment, but the guy in the little black truck simply smiles and makes a right turn....
I killed the stang GT easily but got my Butt handed to me in a truck bed ! !

I couldnt believe it....the only thing that caught my eye was the word
" Syclone" on the tail gate. I got to the cottage and looked it up in a google search and discovered this Turbo truck runs 0 to 60 times in the 4.7 second average range, and runs 12 second quarters.
Any one have any experience with these ?
Haha, Sycl0wned.

:lol

They are AWD...trust me, my friend had one. Looking at the numbers, they dont look that fast, but the numbers are very decieving. He used to beat newer trans am's in his syclone, and it was pretty much stock other than an exhaust and a drop in filter.
Bah. MSN Autos can be a little sketchy on older vehicles sometimes, it shows 4 wd/AWD as N/A.

Here is an original sticker w/ the options...w/ AWD ;)

Here is an original sticker w/ the options...w/ AWD ;)


Indeed, It does apear under the standard features list. It must have been AWD as pickup trucks have little weight over the rear axle, and would spin the tires off trying to launch. Like i mentioned earlier, the guy in the truck was aready ahead of both my E46 and the Stang when we crossed the other side of the intersection. I know my launch was hard that day. With only rear drive he would have been still at the lights making alot of tire smoke. :stickoutt

Stock they claimed only 280 hp and weighed 3,850 lbs. That wouldn't make for a quick vehicle. I don't believe it was AWD either.

Of course, cranking up the boost can make it into respectable competition.

The KBB on the truck is amazingly high.
All of GM's turbo'd cars were hughly underrated when it came to hp numbers. Ask anyone who owns a Grand National, GNX, or 3.8t Trans AM.

All of GM's turbo'd cars were hughly underrated when it came to hp numbers. Ask anyone who owns a Grand National, GNX, or 3.8t Trans AM.

This is very true. The turbo TA is one of the fastest cars GM ever produced. The true hp ratings on all their turbo cars were way underrated. You could almost bet the 280 hp Syclone had close to 280 hp at the wheels. :eyecrazy

They were all-wheel drive and they used the same automatic tranny as the Corvette. Even the floor shifter was the same as the Vettes. They sold for about $27,000 new in 1991 which was very pricey for an S-10 pickup.

wow this thing sounds really really cool

"This thing..." Let me guess, your about 18-20 y/o, so the car was new when you were like 4.....

Crap, I'm getting old! :(
J/K :)

syty.net is the official forum for the syclones and typhoons.

and they have great resale and hold there value very well.

find 1 for cheap and its a diamond in th rough.

u better snatch it up asap.

even parts for the trucks are worth a decent amount.

wow this thing sounds really really cool

It is cool but it has the cheap late 80's early 90's interior with those God awful giant grey knobs for the climate control and the radio. If you can get past the crap interior they are absolute beasts.

I knew a guy that owned a Typhoon. One day he was doing donuts/burnouts in a parking lot and lost control and ran into a building. He totalled out the damn Typhoon! Way too much power for a high school kid. :nono

my cousin worked for a shop that built one of these, they dynoed the motor at 430hp NA, i wish they would have dynoed it again once they got it in the truck with the turbo.

my cousin worked for a shop that built one of these, they dynoed the motor at 430hp NA, i wish they would have dynoed it again once they got it in the truck with the turbo.

What?!?

You DO realize the Typhoons/Syclones come WITH turbos, right?

I wonder why some companies through the years build ( in limited numbers) these "Sleeper" performance vehicles , like that Syclone, the Grand National,
Shelby GT500, etc.
I guess the Syclone being a "truck" with super car straight line performance, it would be an accident waiting to happen if somone tried to take corners with one, unlike an M3, ZO6 Vette, or any other sports car that is "designed" to handle corners & turns. Pickup trucks were originally designed for Utility & work use, and have a high center of gravity with little weight over the rear wheels, along with the fact they are about as aerodynamic as a brick.
From one of the Syclone sites i visited, there were a couple of modded versions with that speed limiter disabled, and reached track speeds of 145 mph before the gearing ran out and engine rev limiter cuts in.
I felt small that day being beat by a truck in my E46M3, the guy in the older Stang GT must have felt like poop. :lol

my cousin worked for a shop that built one of these, they dynoed the motor at 430hp NA, i wish they would have dynoed it again once they got it in the truck with the turbo.

I believe you are mistaken my friend. :nono I have the non-turbo version of this motor and they only make 200HP stock. That is like saying you got 430 whp out of a N/A 325is. I could definately see those kind of numbers possible if tuned right with the turbo.

woo nice death. Syclones are definately bad ass. I never heard about them until hanging out in here. Those and Typhoons (blazer versions with the same engine i believe). They will definately put a hurtin on the unsuspecting.