Decked out in bright Raspberry Red and dropped three inches out back and an inch lower than stock up front, the Sonoma GTX is basically a Sportside Syclone. The GTX shares the Syclone’s turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 (utilizing twin stainless-steel exhausts) and all-wheel-drive system, but is fitted with a composite cargo box with flared fenders. Delco electric shocks dampen suspension movement while a heads-up display, including turbo boost gauges, allows the driver to keep eyes focused forward.
Excerpt from AutoWeek 5.11.29
But the Gobi is a bit too radical a departure for the near term. A sure thing for the showroom is a version of GMC’s Sonoma GTX Sportside that is on the auto-show circuit this year.
To use GMC’s words, the compact-size Sonoma GTX “is the latest expression of its goal of translating automobile high performance technology-oriented engineering, comfort and convenience features and overall safety in light-duty trucks.”
There is a growing similarity in what customers want in an automobile and in a personal-use truck, according to GMC Truck general manager, Lewis Campbell:
“We can see the day, just a few years in the future, when almost every high-tech ‘car-like’ comfort, convenience and safety item will also be available on every personal-use GMC truck.”
The Sonoma GTX Sportside, as its full name indicates, has a sportside cargo bed, a style which is currently not offered on any production compact. There’s also a front air dam with integrated fog lamps, recessed grille and a rear spoiler integrated with the tailgate. The truck’s unusual (for a truck) raspberry color will be available on some future GMC trucks. The production version of the Sonoma GTX will arrive in the 1994 model year.
