In life, you can never be too safe. I guess the same goes for death, especially with the pending zombie apocalypse of 2012. For those with the resources (i.e. too much money), Rogue Engineering has pioneered the way to escape the walking dead… In style!
Rogue is most well-known for their work on BMWs and they’ve developed a full array of first-rate aftermarket performance products. They’ve also done some very impressive projects over the years and their S54-powered E46 Wagon and 330i ZHP conversions are still two of my favorites. Of course, a true automotive enthusiast isn’t brand-specific and would never turn down an interesting car project, and so the 2012 Porsche Cayenne ZAV (Zombie Apocalypse Vehicle) is born.
This project started with a brand new, Cayenne with less than 20 miles on it. I suppose the low mileage ensures a fresh new-car scent while your driving around, or over, the living dead. While it’s an extravagant vehicle for this sort of build, it’s actually quite functional.
There’s a winch up front and even night vision cameras on a custom-fabricated bumper. Aside from that, the mostly stock looking exterior was coated with gloss black Line-X for both protection and for a more rugged look. The original air suspension was deemed to be adequate, so it was left alone and they added new 18″ black powder coated wheels wrapped with more aggressive tires.
No room for the factory spare in the back, as that’s now occupied by a custom 18-gallon fuel cell with built-in transfer pump and fuel level sender in order to extend the mileage. That’s 18 gallons of gas on top of the already-large capacity 24-gallon factory tank.
Rogue also added a rear roll cage to protect the ZAV’s B, C and rear hatch pillars in case something comes crashing down on the roof, or in the unlikely event of a rollover. Of course, this means there’s no way to safely carry rear-seat passengers, so those seats have been replaced with an emergency storage compartment. There’s a full first aid kit and aluminum jack mounted to the front of the diamond plate, which is the new material covering everything in the rear.
Better than my own garage, the Rogue Engineering ZAV has a rollout, stainless steel toolbox as well. Since the factory spare was eliminated, there’s a new full-size spare secured to the floor and roll bar behind the passenger seat. A mount for a shovel is located in the back, and there are D-rings in the diamond plate to secure any loose objects. The more I think about this, the more it truly does seem to be built for something a little not-so-ordinary.
The cozy Porsche leather seats were replaced with custom units which are mounted to custom rails and equipped with custom harnesses. The obvious theme to most of this project is “custom,” of course. While it was mostly an exercise in fabrication and just doing a unique project, you can’t help but think that the owner of this Porsche might be thinking that the 2012 predictions could very well be true. If not, at least he’ll be rolling into 2013 with a one-of-a-kind Cayenne.
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