Will Trent's Ziveran Car Body Model & Plot Explained

Will Trent returned in a big way in Season 3, and an essential part of the season-opening case involved a unique car model named Ziveran. 

Season 3, Episode 1's main case involves the Atlanta P.D. and GBI's investigation surrounding the death of two cops who were shot in broad daylight.

Will Trent Season 3: Ziveran’s Connection to the Case Explained

In Will Trent, Season 3, Episode 1, the gunmen's runaway vehicle is identified as the Ziveran.

While the Ziveran is a fictitious car model, the design of the vehicle itself, featured about two-thirds into the episode, is nearly identical to the body of the real-life 2010-2012 Nissan Altima 4DR with a 4-Piece Duraflex GT-R Body Kit (see below).

This 4th-generation model of the Altimam, with code L32, was manufactured exclusively in the United States in the late 2000s and early 2010s and had an original base price of around $20,200.

The Ziveran used by the suspects in the episode is modeled after a red sedan with a partial license plate, 8H74. 

Special Agent Gross (played by Douglas Smith, one of the new cast members in Will Trent Season 3) pointed out to a returning Will Trent that the Ziveran is a car model frequently stolen in Atlanta. 

Later, it was revealed that the getaway vehicle was a stolen Ziveran, making it difficult for the investigators to determine the culprits. 

Still, Will Trent, using his accessibility assistant named Eduardo because he is dyslexic in the series, managed to track down the Ziveran with plate 8H74 underneath a bridge next to a homeless tent. 

The GBI special agent then came face to face with the actual owner of the car, telling him that he hid a tablet in it to track it once it was stolen. 

It was discovered that the red Ziveran was operated with a USB device with a virus to activate the ignition of the specific model. Detective Ormewood also found a line of Ziverans parked behind the Grove Park Boys clubhouse. 

So, Who Is Being Framed?

Everything seemed to be connected to the ongoing case because the rival leader of Grove Park Boys, Lincoln Spelling, is framing Will's friend for the murder of the two cops.

After disappearing in the Season 2 finale, Will returns in Season 3, Episode 1 because his longtime friend, Rafael Wexford, is being framed.

The stolen cars parked behind the clubhouse and the virus-infused USB are enough to convince Faith and Ormewood that Rafael is right about being framed.

Despite being framed, Rafael took the fall after confessing to the murders he did not commit. 

Will and his new ally, Assistant District Attorney Marion Alba, went to prison to learn why Rafael did what he did, but he was tight-lipped about it. 

Will, Faith, and Ormewood search Rafael's house for clues, and they later discover that he was forced to confess because the real suspects abducted his daughter. 

New episodes of Will Trent Season 3 premiere every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.