Zil

"" where is Finn McMissile""

—Zil, Cars 2

Zil
Vehicle type	1951 ZiS-112/1
Color	Black
Occupation	Leader of the lemons (initially; replaced)
First appearance	The Art of Cars 2
Character information Gender Male Home Russia

Zil (Russian: Зил) is a conceptual character in Cars 2. Originally the main antagonist, he was replaced by Miles Axlerod and Professor Zündapp.

History

Not much is known about Zil, but it has been revealed that early during the development of Cars 2, Zil was conceived as the main antagonist of the film, being behind the Lemons' plot to sabotage the races, turn the entire world against alternative fuels and assassinate the Queen. An alternate opening for the film, storyboarded back when Zil was set to be the main antagonist, the deleted scene Prague, has Agent Healey being chased by the Lemons while trying to contact Finn McMissile until he hides in a scrapyard. However, just as he believes he is safe, Healey discovers the wrecks of many other cars before the Lemons appear and a crane grabs him tossing him into a car compactor. As Healey gets his tires busted, Zil appears from the shadows and asks Healey where Finn McMissile is, but Healey refuses to tell him, vowing that Finn will stop him. Unmoved, Zil chuckles, before turning around to wait for Healey to be destroyed, saying they will see what happens before Healey is destroyed.

While not directly appearing, in the deleted scene Oktoberfest, he orders 3 lemons to hunt down and kill an unnamed agent, which they succeed in. Like in the final film, Mater is mistaken by both the Lemons and the unnamed agent to be an American spy.

While once again not directly appearing in the deleted scene Meet Finn, he orders Tomber (one of the lemons from Oktoberfest who was originally a villain in this script opposed to a minor anti hero in the final film) to kill Mater but he fails due to Finn McMissile's intervention. It is also revealed that Zil is planning to sabotage the WGP races and ultimately, assassinate the Queen after the last race.

In the deleted scene Train to Spain, Zil appears at the end of the scene upon Mater's capture. Smiling at his success as it's revealed that Giulia was a double agent working for him all along.

General information

Personality and Traits

Unlike Zündapp and the lemons, Zil is a calm, collected character. He understands the importance of intelligence and prefers to use mind over matter, outsourcing the dirty work to his minions, the lemons, and not presenting himself in person unless he absolutely has to. This is evident in scenes such as Meet Finn, where Finn makes it clear that he has no idea who's behind the sabotaging of the races or the plot to assassinate the Queen. That said, Zil is a hard worker, managing a large, complex web of lemons and keeping a close eye on both his allies and enemies, knowing that it's better to trust yourself than anyone else. The producers of Cars 2 have revealed that Zil was much more a traditional Bond villain than Zündapp or Axlerod, planning a much more complex conspiracy. Despite this, Zil does genuinely seem to believe in his work, and to some extent, care for his lemon subordinates, as well as his 2 closest allies: Tomber and Giulia.

Livery

According to concept art, Zil was to be painted jet black, and have a chrome bumper.

Model

His design is based on the 1951 ZiS-112/1, a race car made in the Soviet Union that performed poorly.

Gallery

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Trivia

• Cars 2 is probably based on Zil's Personality and traits they came up with, such as behind everything and positive leadership or implementation, and finally split his personality into two roles, such as Miles Axlerod is behind everything; Professor Zündapp is frontal leadership or implementation.
• As of now, Zil appears in 2 Cars 2 deleted scenes: Prague and Train to Spain
• Similar to Axlerod in Cars 2, it's implied that no one would know Zil was behind the conspiracy until the climax of the film.

References

Unproduced

Media Top Down Truck Stop (deleted scene) • Lost • Community Service • Traffic School (deleted scene) • Motorama Girls •Backwards to the Forwards • Import Mater • Mater Goes to the Car-Nival • Runway Mater • Stunt Mater • Paris Race • Germany (deleted scene) • Meet Finn • Train To Spain • Oktoberfest • Prague (deleted scene) • Tall Tale • More Than New Paint • The Bolt • The Boogie Woogie • Jars of Dirt • Lug Nuts • Race Through the Andes • To Protect and Serve • Planes 3 • Metro Characters Chariots • Dodge Charger • Flying Tow Truck • Freddie • French Pitty • Giulia • Indiana Jones • James Bond • Jerry • JL • Marsk • Mater's Tow Fair • Marlina Wolfsburg • New Model • Stone wheels • Wally Crane • Zil Locations Calais Port • Lou's Casa Della Tires • Munich Museum