An eight-second, all wheel drive GMC Syclone

Credit: Joakim Svensson

Everyone loves a cool truck.  Sure, most of us just consider a truck our primary means for getting our race car to the track, pulling a boat, or maybe slinging a little mud if that’s your thing – but when someone builds a fast truck, people are watching.  Robert Pothorcki, who hails all the way from the country of Sweden, not only built a killer truck that would make any car buff salivate, but he stepped several paces outside the box with his 1991 GMC Syclone.

Pothorcki’s pickup is highly unique in its makeup, as was the Syclone in its original form from the factory.  These quick little trucks, which were only produced for one year, were the quickest stock pickups in production in the world at the time. Acceleration was considered to be nearly on par with Corvettes and even Ferraris.  That’s right, a small GMC pickup being mentioned in the same sentence as a Ferrari.The factory Syclone featured a turbocharged 6-cylinder engine with all-wheel drive and four wheel anti-lock brakes.  It engine produced 280 horsepower and gave it a peppy 4.6-second 0-60 and 13.05 quarter mile.

Robert took this already superb platform, and simply expanded upon it – make that greatly expanded upon it.  The V6 engine was bored and stroked out to 287 cubic inches and fitted with low compression JE pistons, Eagle forged rods, a Scat 3.75-inch crank, and Brodix aluminum cylinder heads.  Atop the little engine is an Edelbrock carburetor-style single plane intake with an Accufab 75mm throttle body.  The truck utilizes a Precision Turbo GT45 ball bearing turbocharger cranking out 28 pounds of boost in conjunction with a Precision air-to-air intercooler.  And if that isn’t enough power – because you can’t really ever have enough – there is also a 70-horsepower NOS nitrous kit plumbed to this mean ride.

The truck sports a heavy duty 4L80-E overdrive transmission, transferring the ponies to a 12-bolt Moser rear end, with 35 spline axles, 3.42 gear, and a posi. And it runs on something we don’t get to say very often – Mickey Thompson ET 26×10.5 rubber on all corners.

Pothoricki brought the truck to the United States some years ago, and cracked off an 8.98 at 155 MPH, becoming the world’s quickest and fast Syclone and likely one of the quickest trucks in the world, period.  Going 8’s in this little pickup has to be a rush, but those four-wheel burnouts are probably even more of a treat.

About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
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