We’re suckers for the turbocharged “sleepers”of the ’80s and ’90s, especially Turbo Buicks and the GMC Sy/Ty twins. It might be hard to believe for some of our older readers, but it’s been almost twenty-five years since the all-wheel drive, wolf in truck’s clothes first hit the streets!
Packing a 280 horsepower 4.3L V6 Chevy mill under the hood, the pocket rocket pickups and SUVs launched off of the line like a slingshot; leaving many a Corvette and even a Ferrari or two at the starting line wondering what the heck just happened.
Crank up the boost, swap out the OEM chip and open up the intake and exhaust tracts, and you were well on your way into the 12-second time zone! It might not sound too impressive today in 2015, but back in 1992, that was considered warp speed!
Recently, one of our friends in the aftermarket tipped us off to this retro video review from our colleagues at MotorWeek (TV) Magazine. They put the Typhoon through its paces; from 0-60 (5.3 seconds) and quarter-mile testing (14.1 at 94 mph) to slalom, braking (60-0, 103 ft.) and general road-testing. Overall, the Typhoon hit it out of the park, even though it still didn’t score a perfect 100 from the MotorWeek test crew.
Among their list of “hits,” included the acceleration, handling, styling and standard features. Unfortunately, the dashboard and the cargo capacity (oddly) were found a faults in the Typhoon. Your author, having owned a very similar vehicle to the Typhoon in the past, can’t say he agrees with that last statement; as the rear seat also folds down and provides plenty of rear cargo room for just about anything you’d expect a compact/mid-size two-door SUV to carry.
In closing, we’d have to say that we would still love to own one of these little trucks, and believe they still hold water after all of these years. If you own a Typhoon and would like to have it featured here at GM EFI, we would be interested in taking a closer look!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
