Luxo-Performance Sierra C3 Is First With Full-Time Awd - Brief Article

Spinning yet another variant off the versatile GMT800 platform, General Motors is exploring the luxury pickup truck niche with the new GMC Sierra C3. But to avoid direct competition with forthcoming pickups from Lincoln and Cadillac, GMC's contender is adding high performance to the formula.

With an exclusive version of the new Vortec 6000 V-8, developing 325-hp at 5,000 rpm and 370 pounds-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm, the C3 is the second-fastest full-size pickup on the market (0-60 mph in 8.3 seconds), topped only by Ford's supercharged 350-hp SVT Lightning. Jim Kornas, Sierra brand manager, dismisses the Lightning as a "hot rod" with little of the refinement of the half-ton C3.

So named to reflect GMC's 100-year history and because it's the third generation of Sierra trucks, the C3 is built in GM'S Oshawa, Ontario, plant alongside regular Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups.

"We know BMW, VW, Honda and Nissan are thinking about entering the full-size pickup market and we want to beat them to the punch with the C3," adds Kornas.

One key technical feature of the C3 is its all-wheel-drive transfer case, the first use of full-time awd in the full-size truck segment. The system uses a viscous coupling to maintain a continuous 38/62 percent front-to-rear torque split. Backing up the C3's handling aspirations are 17-inch all-season touring tires mounted on five-spoke cast aluminum wheels, plus front and rear disc brakes with twin piston calipers and ABS, previously available only on three-quarter ton GM pickups.

Despite its performance character, GMC touts the C3 as a proper working truck with a maximum trailer rating of 8,700 pounds.

Even though the C3 can haul a decent load, GMC claims it rides nicely when the bed is empty due to a carefully damped suspension setup.

Outside, the $39,000 C3 is identifiable by its black-painted grille and body-color door handles. The same restrained look carries over to the five-passenger cabin, which boasts leather trim, heated seats and OnStar's second-generation system as standard.

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