How much are you willing to spend on your dream car? This week in the collector car auction world, a low-mileage 1993 GMC Typhoon nearly broke the internet when it sold at auction for $226,000.
If you didn’t know what you were looking at, chances are you wouldn’t do a double-take if you saw one of these driving down the highway, but if you know good SUVs, you know the Typhoon is usually worth every penny. However, what makes this particular Typhoon so special that it sold for nearly a quarter million dollars and has a fan base all to itself?
What Makes the GMC Typhoon Special?
Overall, the GMC Typhoon is pretty special as an SUV — it offers classic styling mixed with high performance and some pretty cool tech features for the time. The Typhoon was only produced from 1991 to 1993, and according to JD Power, only 4,697 were made during that very short production run.
They came with a self-leveling rear suspension, which used air bladders on the rear end of the car to compensate for heavy loads, had leather seats, and a turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 engine that could send it from 0 to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, and on to a top speed of 124 mph.
What This 1993 GMC Typhoon Had to Offer
As one of less than 4,700 built, this 1993 GMC Typhoon is already rare. With just 688 miles on the odometer, it’s finished in a striking Apple Red, one of only 77 in this color with matching cladding. The interior offers contrasting Charcoal leather upholstery in superb condition, all riding on four turbine-style 16″ aluminum wheels.
The CarFax shows that this example has had one owner and has no accidents or damage on file, making it a beautiful example that’s as close to stepping into a time capsule as possible. It comes equipped with all working gauges on the dashboard, a factory aerodynamic package, integrated fog lights, a split tailgate, and a rearview window wiper. From the pictures, even the carpets are pristine.
The Unpredictable Collector Car Space
The exciting — and sometimes frustrating — reality of the collector car segment is that you never know for certain what will hold its value, what will bring big bucks in a few decades, and what special car you’ve been keeping in a barn that turned out to be, well, not as valuable as we had hoped (kind of like Beanie Babies).
Commenters on the Bring a Trailer auction page seem divided over the car’s value, arguing if it’s truly worth the quarter of a million that was paid at auction or not.
“This truck is a one of none. I’m pretty sure you cannot find a better one and better condition. Let’s be real here, this truck is clean enough to lick. It’s 100% original never been driven never restored never mess with just put away in a time machine. It’s basically the best one on the planet. And the price for that is a quarter of a million dollars. I don’t see the problem,” commenter JjimmyMann shared in the forum section.
Whatever your personal opinion may be, we hope both buyer and seller are happy with how this Bring a Trailer auction ended up.