syclone
Update: 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
Part of the issue, we think, has to do with the focus of these trucks. Aimed at on-road performance, they lacked the utility of a traditional pickup (due to their sporty tires and suspensions) while being outrun and outhandled by equal or lower-priced performance cars. Automobiles are governed by the laws of physics, and a truck-based performance vehicle is never going to have the same potential as a car-based performance vehicle. The Raptor works because it doesn’t try to beat cars at their own game. It is a truck, first and foremost.
Keepers: GMC Syclone/Typhoon—Community
Every hardcore performance ride has an enthusiast following, and while the same kind of race-inspired pedigree may not surround the Syclone/Typhoon, a small but faithful group of gearheads congregate to www.syty.org , online home to the International Syclone Typhoon Owners Association (ISTA and yes, they opt to go O-less for the acronym). International is no typo either; despite a limited production run, Syclones and Typhoons have found homes in such faraway lands as England, Sweden, Germany, and Austria. SyTy.org also lists club chapters for Brazil and Japan, though a visit to both websites suggests activity in those areas might be waning.
Keepers: GMC Syclone/Typhoon—Shopping
The Syclone/Typhoon (often referred to as SyTy by owners and enthusiasts) super trucks were always intended to be niche, limited-production vehicles. Save for a few outlier units in 1992, Syclones were exclusive to the 1991 model year and exclusively black, while Typhoons offered more color and less exclusivity thanks to a production run that spanned 1992 and 1993. As one would expect, the Typhoon is a bit easier to find; nearly 5000 came off the assembly line during its two-year run as opposed to 3000 Syclones, so while these trucks are rather rare, they’re not impossible to find.
Keepers: GMC Syclone/Typhoon
Nothing seems to polarize motoring enthusiasts more than the concept of a performance truck, and the NextAutos office is no exception. What kind of absurd mentality could ever conceive such an abomination as a utilitarian vehicle that aspires to be something other than utilitarian? After all, you could bolt plywood to a shopping cart, tie it to a boat, and go water skiing carting if you really wanted to, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to have a blast jumping the wake or cracking the whip into the beach.
Or does it?
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