The Elantra Coupe that Hyundai has customized so that it will serve its owner in the event of a zombie apocalypse will debut tomorrow at Comic-Con's preview night.
Zombie fiction has grown in popularity as a genre in recent years. Hyundai gives its motivation for the custom job as an attempt to "expand Hyundai's immersion into the Gen Y culture beyond music into other key passion points like entertainment and gaming".
"The Hyundai Undead program allows us to interact with hundreds of thousands of film, comic, TV and video game fans during this summer's ultimate pop culture event," Steve Shannon, marketing VP for Hyundai, said in a statement.
The car company approached Robert Kirkman - creator of the Walking Dead comic book series that the AMC television series of the same name - to design the car.
Comic-Con festivities will include a private Walking Dead 100th Issue VIP Black Carpet Event, at which the "The Zombie Survival Machine" will be debuted alongside an Elantra GT wrapped in the cover of the 100th issue by artist Charlie Adlard. Enthusiasts have until July 31 to enter a sweepstakes to win the latter.
Kirkman's design for the Zombie Survival Machine includes a front-end custom zombie plow cow catcher with spikes, slatted armored window coverings, a roof hatch to allow passengers to shoot at the undead, an electric rear trunk to house weapons, allâ€terrain tires, weapons storage compartments, and a CB radio/PA system.
"I had a good experience working with Hyundai....and I thought it would be totally awesome if a fan of the comic were able to win a great new car made even cooler with Charlie's artwork," Kirkman said. "Designing the Zombie Survival Machine was just the icing on the cake. I'm very excited to see the amazing job they are doing in turning my doodles and ideas into a truly awesome car. I hope they will let me do a test drive before Comic-Con!"
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