Performance SUVs are pretty much a dime-a-dozen these days. Pretty much every manufacturer is at it – be it Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Volkswagen, Ford, heck – even Smart, has something fast and obscenely large.
Could you name the first, though? If you’re thinking of the Porsche Cayenne, you are wrong. While that car gave real movement to the idea, it was beaten to the punch a whole decade before its arrival.
No, the first car to be widely considered a performance SUV is one we suspect anyone outside of the US has never heard of – the GMC Typhoon.
If you’re on the other side of the Atlantic to us, you may be thinking we’ve lost our minds slightly but we should add that GMC has never officially sold cars in Europe. Some are imported, but ask any European what one is and they’ll probably assume it’s an acronym for medication.
Yet, for those in the know, the GMC Typhoon is one of the coolest footnotes in American automotive history.
Released in 1992, the Typhoon was based on the humble GMC Jimmy – a run-of-the-mill family SUV. You’re expecting we’re going to tell you General Motors stuck a Chevy small block in there and called it a day, right?
GMC Typhoon, engine
Far from it. Instead, the Typhoon utilised a development of the 4.3-litre Vortec V6 engine found in the regular Jimmy. A turbocharger sourced from Mitsubishi was strapped to it, with the V6 officially producing 280bhp and 360lb ft of torque. Tame by American standards, but respectable for the early ‘90s – although it’s long thought that was an underestimated number for insurance reasons, with real figures north of 300bhp.
As it was sent to an all-wheel drive system though, it could crack 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds. For some context, it was about the same as a Honda NSX at the time, and in a car that could carry four passengers and cargo.
It wasn’t just the performance that was revolutionary, too. The Typhoon even used self-levelling air suspension on the rear axle that would set itself depending on how much stuff you’d crammed into it.
GMC Typhoon, interior
Alongside the Typhoon was the mechanically identical GMC Syclone, a pick-up truck that’s arguably even cooler. Sadly, we’ve never seen one for sale in the UK so the Typhoon will have to do for now.
This particular example is a 1992 car with only 46,000 miles on the clock. We have no idea if £18,495 is a reasonable asking price given it’s the only one for sale in the UK right now. In fact, according to DVLA data, it’s the only one registered in the country – although we suspect a few others will be floating around registered under different models.
If we had the means to spare, we’d be all over this immediately. If you’re in that boat and pull the trigger, you have our full respect.
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