If you think the “Zombie Survival Machine” or “ZSM” developed by Design Craft Fabrication from some sketches by famed graphic novelist Robert Kirkman with the help of South Korean car maker Hyundai is a little bizarre, you’re not alone.
Indeed, anyone not acquainted with Kirkman’s long-running tale of life in post zombie apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead will probably look at this almost unrecognizable Hyundai Elantra Coupe and wonder what the heck it’s for: Did a police department order it to help quell riots? Is it a prototype designed to help protect truck convoys in hostile lands? Maybe it’s for commuters on the Los Angeles freeways!
Well, the ZSM is none of those things (much to the displeasure of commuters, I’m sure) as it’s designed for the ostensibly fictional need (one hopes and prays) of transporting live humans safely from place to place through hordes of flesh-eating zombies.
Unveiled at the annual “Comic-Con” convention last week in San Diego, Hyundai's ZSM includes a host of interesting modifications such as: a front-end custom "zombie plow" with spikes; armored window coverings; a roof hatch to allow passengers to fend off attacking “walkers,” slang for zombie’s on foot; a trunk full of electric and pneumatic weaponry; front and back end floodlights, spiked all-terrain/rally type tires; plus special seat slots for “his and her” machetes in case a zombie manages to get inside the vehicle.
[The clip below shows some of how Design Craft built this one-of-a-kind vehicle.]
As I noted in my previous post about the ZSM, Hyundai also crafted a special marketing campaign called Hyundai Undead to garner attention for its new Elantra Coupe while celebrating Kirkman’s release of the 100thissue of The Walking Dead graphic novel series.
They even went so far as to print up a limited number of illustrated “owner's manuals” to “teach” drivers how to operate the ZSM’s unique features while preparing them for the gruesome realities of the living through a zombie apocalypse. Ack!!!
[You can also see one on the passenger seat of the ZSM in the photo at right … along with those “his and her” machetes I talked about earlier. And to view more photos of the ZSM, click here.]
Now sure, all this talk of zombies is creepy and gruesome. But hey! It’s all just for fun – we hope!