This GMC ute beat Ferrari at its own game

We Aussies are a nation fascinated by the ute. Be it the meteoric rise of the dual-cab or smoke-hazed legacy of the sports ute, if you build it with a tailgate, we will come.

Unfortunately, the title for greatest pick-up truck of all time does not originate from our shores. Available in any colour as long as it’s black, the king is the GMC Syclone.

Boasting 280 horses and 350 lb-ft from a 4.3 litre liquid intercooled turbo V6, the Syclone punched every one of those ponies into the ground with an impressive all-wheel drive system.

There is even a special edition Marlboro Syclone, to complete the cowboy loop.

The car wasn’t all glamour muscles. Sporty technology like ABS and a 35/65 per cent front/rear torque split matched to a trick four-speed auto and LSD made it more than a straight-line hero.

Built in 1991 as a hot version of the GMC Sonoma, the Syclone was for its time, the quickest thing on wheels with a tray.

Devised by Detroit to rattle cages the Syclone is pure street brawler. From the logo font to the ad campaign to the fat Firestones, everything about this tray-backed menace is all-American badass. There is even a special edition Marlboro Syclone, to complete the cowboy loop.

It was so impressive, that in September 1991, Car and Driver magazine undertook a comparison with a Ferrari 348ts. The US$25,000 truck took the Ferrari’s lunch money with 14.1 second standing quarter, earning the ire of Maranello.

In 1992 and 1993, GMC built an SUV version of the truck, the Typhoon. The perfect way to show the kids that the working man need not cowtow to the supercar elite.

The Syclone boasted 280 horses and 350 lb-ft from a 4.3 litre liquid intercooled turbo V6.

With just under 3000 Syclones built, their value is on the up as owners realise the value of their now 26-year-old blue-collar performance bargain.

What's your ultimate ute? Tell us in the comments below.