Sy-Cloned: You Can Now Get a GMC Syclone Based on the Canyon - Automobile

The state of the sport truck market really is a shame. Sure, we’ve got neato off-road stuff like the Ford F-150 Raptor and Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, but we miss the hunkered-down, powered-up road-hugging specials like the Ford Lightning and Dodge Ram SRT-10. That formula has long since transitioned to the hi-po super-SUV segment, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want a body-on-frame bruiser with an open bed.

Well, it looks like one of the most iconic nameplates in sport trucks is back—kind of. Specialty Vehicle Engineering, the same fine folks behind the wacko 1,000-hp Yenko Corvette—yes, Corvettes—and 1,000-hp Yenko Camaro are building a new GMC Syclone.

The 1991 GMC Syclone is one of the all-time great branches on the sport-truck family tree, having famously beaten the then-new Ferrari 348 down at the quarter-mile and able to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. The secret to the GMC Sonoma–based supertruck came down to all-wheel-drive and a meaty 4.3-liter turbocharged V-6 that put out a contemporaneously impressive 280 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque.

Now, Speciality Vehicle Engineering has resurrected the Syclone name for an aftermarket package for the current GMC Canyon. On paper, it lives up to the name with a supercharger kit for the Canyon’s 3.6-liter V-6, now pumped-up to a heady 455 horses. In addition, each neo-Syclone is outfitted with upgrades to the brakes, suspension, bushings, anti-roll bar, and more. For extra aural excitement, the regularly workaday V-6 is fitted with a free-breathing exhaust system. It looks the part, too, arriving exclusively in black paint with Syclone graphics and riding on 20-inch five-spoke wheels.

If you’re wondering about how GM feels about this official-unofficial conversion, SVE informed us that while it isn’t really a factory Syclone, GM never renewed the trademark on Syclone after the initial run, and “it was too cool to not pick up and build on.” Can’t argue with that. As interesting and cool as this is—and some in our office fall on the sacrilege side of the ledger, for what it’s worth—the truck doesn’t come without a price. Limited to just 100 examples, each package will set you back $39,995 before you factor in the price of the donor Canyon.

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