  Searching for heavy vector bosons $Z^\prime$, predicted in models inspired by
Grand Unification Theories, is among the challenging objectives of the LHC. The
ATLAS and CMS collaborations have looked for $Z^\prime$ bosons assuming that
they can decay only into Standard Model channels, and have set exclusion limits
by investigating dilepton, dijet and to a smaller extent top-antitop final
states. In this work we explore possible loopholes in these $Z^\prime$ searches
by studying supersymmetric as well as leptophobic scenarios. We demonstrate the
existence of realizations in which the $Z^\prime$ boson automatically evades
the typical bounds derived from the analyses of the Drell-Yan invariant-mass
spectrum. Dileptonic final states can in contrast only originate from
supersymmetric $Z^\prime$ decays and are thus accompanied by additional
effects. This feature is analyzed in the context of judiciously chosen
benchmark configurations, for which visible signals could be expected in future
LHC data with a $4\sigma-7\sigma$ significance. Our results should hence
motivate an extension of the current $Z^\prime$ search program to account for
supersymmetric and leptophobic models.
