Remember how broken the internet became when we saw the Jeep Trackhawk gap a Mclaren 720 S? We can only fathom how a fantasy early 90's Youtube and Twitter would've reacted to how thoroughly the GMC Syclone trounced even the most exotic sports cars from bigger and more expensive companies.

At its heart, the Syclone is nothing more than a souped-up version of an all too common GMC Sonoma. Which itself was a derivative of the Chevy S-10 light pickup trucks. Just under three thousand GMC Syclones were ever made for all of a single production year. Today, you'll need to consult a special tuner like Hennessey Performance for the privilege of driving a GMC truck as fast as the Syclone. But for one glorious year in the early 90s, you could simply pop into your local GM dealer and buy yourself a super-truck legitimately as fast as any other car on the road at the time. Want to buy one of your own? There are a few things we think you should know first.

Fire up your Sega Genesis, pop in a Vanilla Ice CD, and let's take a trip back to the early 90s to see how much this lowly light-duty truck became a piece of folklore. And what you must do in order to own one for yourself.

Be Wary Of Swindlers

Chevy S10
via mecum.com

As we said, this iconic turbo pickup truck is based on the lowly Chevy S-10 series of light trucks that include the GMC Sonoma. Therefore, it's possible with a nice enough body kit that someone could conceivably pass one off as a legitimate OEM model. As we've discussed in the past, it was popular at one point to stick fake Super Sports badges on things like Camaros and Monte Carlos and pass them off as the legitimate product they only wished it really was.

In 2021, we have the technology to fight back against these kinds of scammers. Online tools like decodethevin.com exist for the purpose of telling people exactly what vehicle sits before you at any given time. Regardless of whatever poor excuses for human beings may try and cheat you out of lots of your own money.

Related: A Detailed Look At The 1983 GMC Van From The A-Team

Beware Fragile Turbos

1991 GMC Syclone front left quarter

Mecum Auctions

Turbochargers supposedly make every car they're put in better. Most of the time, this is true. But turbo setups from the very early days of turbocharging have a tendency to quite literally blow up in your face if you aren't diligent with certain maintenance. Turbocharging by definition means more boost pressure in the engine's combustion chamber than would exist in a naturally aspirated engine setup.

GMC Syclone
via Horsepower Memories

If you don't change the oil religiously, the Mitsubishi derived turbo on the Syclone is known to fail and potentially bring the rest of the V6 motor along with it. On the other hand, the Syclones engine has the same throttle body assembly as the venerable 5.7 V8 from the C4 Corvette. As well as the same All-Wheel Drive setup as the Chevy Safari Van.  A real mixed bag of parts makes up the construction of this truck. So be wary and have a mechanic check it over before you buy.

Be Prepared To Spend

jay leno gmc syclone
via: roadandtrack.com

As we said, only a few thousand of these early 90s turbo GMC pickups were ever made. Knowing that there's bound to be at least several losses to accidents, floods, and other kinds of generalized mayhem. Therefore, expect between 50 to 75 percent of these trucks to still in drivable condition.

motor1.com

There's currently only one Syclone for sale on CarGurus.com as of early January 2021. It's going to take a check for $25 Thousand in order to take this truck home. In the past, these trucks have sold from anywhere from $15 thousand to as high as $40 Thousand dollars for a very low mileage example. Also, if anyone was dense enough to try and make even more modifications to the truck, do your best to bring them back to factory condition if you want your investment to be remotely sound.

Related: New GMC Hummer EV Officially Revealed And Ready To Conquer The Electric Truck Market

The Marlboro Edition

gmc syclone sport truck marlboro edition

This is an automotive collaboration we're sure we'll never see again. But in the brief period in the early 90s before a massive media backlash against tobacco advertising banned Phillip Moris Ltd, the company that makes Marlboro cigarettes from advertising in practically every public space imaginable. The fact this truck quite literally looks like a pack of Marlboro Reds on four wheels only adds to its quirk value in the long run.

Is The SUV Variant More Practical?

via automobilemag

Its common knowledge an SUV known as the Typhoon was developed and sold alongside the Syclone pickup. The Typhoon has much the same Turbo V6 engine and clever all-wheel-drive system as the Syclone and all the space you could ever need to carry passengers and suitcases if you ever needed to.

via Hemmings Motor News

You should never use a classic turbocharged vehicle as a daily driver, and the truck is probably a better investment if it spends its time under a tarp accumulating value. But if you're one of those people who must drive something as quirky as it is fast in everyday life. The Typhoon is probably one of the more practical ways to do it. The ability to carry kids to soccer practice in one extends its usefulness ten-fold in the real world.

Sources: Hemmings Motor News, Car Gurus

Next: See Hennessey's Harley-Davidson GMC Sierra With Goliath 700 Performance Go For A Spin