Rare Rides: Is This 1990 GMC Spectre a Bold Collectible or Junk?
Decals, stripes, special paint, lettering, low production figures. These things are important and relevant in a modern world sort of kitschy, but very enjoyable. Last week’s Nissan Hardbody Rare Ride had all those in spades, and this week’s truck turns it up to 11 (kind of). It’s definitely rare, but the appeal and pedigree are questionable.
Prepare your skepticism and critical thinking keyboards.
What you’re seeing here is a 1990 GMC Spectre. Now, this truck was listed on Craigslist (post removed), eBay (listing ended), and presently sits on Classic Cars for Sale. Each of these listings has/had somewhat different detail, and a varying number of photos. I’ve pulled the photos here from the completed eBay listing, as they were the best quality and most numerous.
“It’s as if a pair of Zubaz pants somehow sprouted a V8.” – Chris Tonn
According to the various materials provided, the GMC Spectre was created so GMC would have a special, sporty truck to offer under its brand when the Chevy 454 SS went to market in 1990.
To this end, GMC decided to make a limited run of the Sierra with an L98 Corvette engine under the hood. According to one of the articles, this L98 would ” … single-handedly demote the 454 SS to ‘The Pickup from Heck.'” Wish I could come up with turns of phrase like that.
The special paint, bodywork, and engine are complemented by a stunning interior straight from the Geo Tracker House of Style, and the package was carefully crafted by Chattanooga Custom Center, which must be somewhere in Tennessee. But it’s unclear from the information provided whether the limited run ever took place, or if it stayed at just a couple of show examples.
This Spectre has seen better days, which is sort of where the questions begin. According to the AutoCheck on the eBay listing, the car was first titled in 2004. In 2006, it had about 8,000 miles, shooting up to over 123,000 in 2011. Then in 2016, it went back down to 24,000. There’s a big fat odometer discrepancy here.
Notice the (awesome) purple wheels shown in magazines are also missing. The radio is busted, the back window doesn’t roll down, and there is faded and damaged paint.
CarFax indicates it has been serviced at a Kia dealer, though the seller insists it’s a concept and a museum piece. The truck reached $5,600 at the conclusion of the eBay sale, obviously not meeting the reserve — so there may still be time to scoop a Spectre!
How rare do you think this Spectre is? Is it a concept, or just a limited-production item? Is it awesome, or a fanny pack piece of easily forgotten chintz?
We need the answers only you can provide.
[Photos via eBay]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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If you look at the graphics in the magazine, and compare them tot he truck in the listing, they don't match up. It's not even close. That extraordinarily questionable provenance coupled with the wrong wheels, questionable mileage, etc. puts this squarely in crackpipe territory.
I was part of the team that built the prototype. The magazine photos are photos of the first truck built. Boy could I tell you all some stories about the folks at chattanooga customs! You would think I was a lier. Lol. We built the Pro Am 1 and also Pro Am 2 and also the bandit 2 during the early 90s.