The Models
Every DARTZ Prombron’ Explained: The Complete Model Guide
DARTZ builds six current Prombron’ lines in Riga: the Iron Diamond CLV, Black Dragon CLV, Black Stallion, Black Alligator, Black Zeppelin MMXXV and Aladeen Edition MMXXII. Past models run from the 2008 Iron Diamond and Monaco Red Diamond through the Black Snake, White Horse and Black Shark; one-offs include the Nightshark VI and Pullman Shere Khan. Before the Prombron’ came the VW Froggy, Golden Calf and SpaceBaller; FreZe builds the electric cars.
DARTZ does not sell a range. It builds a family, and each member has a temperament. This is the guide to all of them: the six lines open for orders today, every past Prombron’ edition since 2008, the one-offs, the cars DARTZ built before the Prombron’ existed, and the electric FreZe roadsters.
The current lines
| Model | Base | Engine and power | Body | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Diamond CLV | Lamborghini Urus platform | Twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 | Full carbon | Open for orders |
| Black Dragon CLV | Mercedes-Maybach GLS | AMG engine | Pullman Saloon | Open for orders |
| Black Stallion CLV | WarBones, a GMT 825 frame | AMG engine | GBOL body | Open for orders |
| Black Alligator | Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 | 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8: factory, 850, 1,100 or 1,600 bhp | Carbon-covered Kevlar over a steel cage | 50 planned |
| Black Zeppelin MMXXV | Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 | Maybach engine | Upgraded Black Alligator body | Newest line |
| Aladeen Edition MMXXII | Iron Diamond MMXXII | 800 hp (588 kW), 1,000 Nm | Carbon and Kevlar | Ten cars |
Iron Diamond CLV
The legend returns in full carbon. It revives DARTZ’s best-known nameplate on the Urus platform, with a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8. Its story begins with the original Iron Diamond, the three-door car of 2008.
Black Dragon CLV
The Pullman-saloon BOND that DARTZ first built for China in 2012, in a run of twelve, with the Lead Zeppelin armour package as an option. The CLV is its successor for the Year of the Dragon: announced on 1 December 2023 on the Mercedes-Maybach GLS, open for orders from 3 December 2023, armoured or not, and shooting-tested on camera in 2024. A Metaxas & Sins reel-to-reel tape system is part of the specification.
Black Stallion
The flagship: square and aggressive outside, a cigar lounge inside. It was born as a film car, and it now comes in a family of editions: the Movie Vehicle Department edition, the Aladeen Edition, the civilian Type-C, the Black Platinum and the Royal Landaulet.
The Royal Landaulet is an extended Stallion with an extra axle and a folding rear roof. It recreates the Russo-Baltique Royal Landaulet of 1912.
Black Alligator
An armoured BOND on the Mercedes-AMG GLS, launched in 2017 with fifty planned. Its panels are carbon-covered Kevlar over a steel cage, and the paint carries 1,001 real black diamonds. The Black Alligator MMXX was the first civilian car DARTZ built with its GBOL technology.
Its orange Black Tiger Lunar Year Edition was delivered to a client in China for the Year of the Tiger, 2022.
Black Zeppelin MMXXV
The newest line. DARTZ describes the Black Zeppelin as an upgraded version of the Black Alligator, built exclusively on the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 platform, with the opulent interiors and bespoke craftsmanship of every DARTZ creation.
Aladeen Edition MMXXII
Ten gold cars for the tenth anniversary of The Dictator, built on the Iron Diamond MMXXII with 800 hp and 1,000 Nm. GBOL armour is BR2 as standard, with STANAG 2 available.
The first Prombron’ family, 2008 to 2012
Iron Diamond, 2008
The car that started it. The original Iron Diamond was a three-door armoured BOND, built without a rear door on the driver’s side, an anti-carjacking design. It made the Prombron’ name, and it is the ancestor of the Iron Diamond CLV.
Monaco Red Diamond, 2009
Shown at Top Marques Monaco in 2010. It had gold-plated bulletproof windows, a tungsten exhaust and white-gold gauges set with diamonds and rubies. Its story, and its notorious leather, is told in the Monaco Red Diamond article.
Iron Xtal, Black Russian, Gold Russian and Monako
The first family grew one edition at a time. Alongside the Iron Diamond and Monaco Red Diamond came the Iron Xtal, the Black Russian and Gold Russian, and the Monako, each a variation in finish and temperament on the same armoured Prombron’.
Kegresse, 2010
A Prombron’ on rubber tracks, named after Adolphe Kégresse, whose half-track system ran on Russo-Balt cars. Read about the original Kégresse half-track.
Aladeen Edition, 2010 to 2012
The gold Prombron’ of The Dictator. On 10 August 2011 three gold cars arrived at Plaza de España in Seville to film Admiral General Aladeen’s motorcade. The series ran to ten cars, and the last was sold in Cannes in 2021. The full story.
Nagel and Jo-Mojo, 2011
The Nagel was an armoured sportback with a matching powerboat, named after Andrey Nagel, who drove a Russo-Balt to Monte Carlo in 1912. The Jo-Mojo was a two-seat roadster.
The zodiac and helicopter cars, 2012 to 2017
Black Dragon, 2012
The first car DARTZ built for China only: a Pullman saloon for the Year of the Dragon, twelve made. Read more.
Black Snake 2K13
Built for China and the Year of the Snake. Its bonnet is covered in gold leaf textured like snakeskin, the dashboard is snakewood, and underneath is a Mercedes-Benz GL 63 AMG of 550 hp. Read more.
Drive Hard 6x6, 2013
An armoured, six-wheel Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG 6x6, built for a private client after DARTZ helped develop the MRAP stunt truck for A Good Day to Die Hard. Read more.
White Horse, 2014
Made for China and the Year of the Horse. A long, white Prombron’ with a pickup-style rear, it followed the Black Dragon and Black Snake as DARTZ’s third zodiac car.
Black Shark, 2014
Revealed in October 2014 on the Mercedes-Benz GL, with a twin-turbo V8 or V12 tuned as far as 1,500 bhp, a Kevlar and titanium body armoured to B7 and door handles that shock anyone who reaches for them uninvited. Ten were planned. It was the first of DARTZ’s helicopter series, and its face later became the HVY Nightshark of GTA Online. Read more.
Pullman and one-offs
Pullman Shere Khan, 2026
A Mercedes V-Class rebuilt as a Pullman for an international hotel group, in black and gold with a tiger-head grille in DARTZ’s Picassian Sliced Art Deco style. Read more.
Nightshark VI, 2026
A real HVY Nightshark commissioned as a one-off and revealed in Miami in GTA VI week. Read more.
Before the Prombron’: 1993 to 1999
DARTZ began in 1988 by armouring cash-in-transit vans. Its first cars of its own came in the 1990s, and the full story is in DARTZ’s early years.
VW Froggy, 1993
A heavily modified Volkswagen Beetle with a television and a video player, a true rarity in 1993. It caught the attention of the investor Jim Rogers, and it now stands as a monument in a dinosaur park.
Golden Calf, 1994
A beach buggy named for the aluminium golden calf skull on its roll cage.
Star Kombat, or SpaceBaller, 1995
DARTZ’s largest vehicle of the decade and the first of its Kombat series, named after Mel Brooks’s comedy. It later appeared in the game Racing Xtreme.
Electric: FreZe
DARTZ’s EV Department revives the name of Frese & Co, the St Petersburg carriage house that built Russia’s first electric car in 1902. Its first cars are small electric roadsters inspired by the Froggy and the Golden Calf. Read more.
How to read a BOND
DARTZ does not use the word SUV. A BOND is a Bespoke Opulent Noble Drive, and it is built to commission: armour, cabin and finish are specified in a private consultation with the office of Leonard F. Yankelovich, not chosen from a brochure.
About DARTZ
DARTZ is a Riga carrosserie that builds bespoke, opulent vehicles, armoured or non-armoured, in strictly limited numbers. It calls them BONDs: Bespoke Opulent Noble Drives.
Its heritage runs back to the Russo-Baltic Wagon Factory (RBVZ), founded in Riga in 1869, whose automobile department built its first car in 1909. Leonard F. Yankelovich revived that heritage as DARTZ in 1988. The group, DARTZ Grupa OÜ, is registered in Tallinn, Estonia.
Its Prombron’ models, from the Iron Diamond and Black Dragon to the Black Shark, Black Alligator and Black Stallion, have been covered by Top Gear, Forbes, Robb Report and Fox News, among many others.
Questions we are asked
How many DARTZ models are there?
Six current Prombron’ lines: the Iron Diamond CLV, Black Dragon CLV, Black Stallion, Black Alligator, Black Zeppelin MMXXV and Aladeen Edition MMXXII. Since 2008 DARTZ has also built more than a dozen past editions and several one-offs, and before that the VW Froggy, Golden Calf and SpaceBaller.
What was the first DARTZ Prombron’?
The Iron Diamond of 2008, a three-door armoured BOND with no rear door on the driver’s side. The first Prombron’ family also included the Iron Xtal, Monaco Red Diamond, Black Russian, Gold Russian and Monako.
What does Prombron’ mean?
A Russian abbreviation for Industrial Armour, first used in 1922 for an armoured car built from Russo-Baltic parts. DARTZ uses it as its model name.
What is the newest DARTZ?
The Black Zeppelin MMXXV, an upgraded Black Alligator built on the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600, and the one-off Nightshark VI revealed in Miami in 2026.
What does CLV mean?
The Roman numeral 155: the anniversary badge for 155 years since 1869, celebrated in 2024.
Which DARTZ cars were made for China?
The Black Dragon of 2012, the Black Snake 2K13 for the Year of the Snake, the White Horse for the Year of the Horse in 2014, the orange Black Tiger of 2022 and a Chinese version of the Black Dragon CLV.
Which DARTZ was in The Dictator?
The gold Prombron’ Aladeen Edition, filmed in Seville in 2011 for the 2012 film. Its anniversary successor is the Aladeen Edition MMXXII, a run of ten.
Does DARTZ build electric cars?
Yes, through its EV Department under the FreZe name: the FreZe Froggy and the FreZe BeachStar, small electric roadsters inspired by the 1993 VW Froggy and the 1994 Golden Calf buggy.
Are all DARTZ cars armoured?
No. Every model can be built armoured or non-armoured, to the client’s specification.
How do I buy a DARTZ?
Directly from DARTZ. There are no dealers, and every commission begins with an enquiry to the office of Leonard F. Yankelovich.
In the press
- You ain’t ready for the Dartz Prombron Black Stallion Top Gear, November 2019
- More details on the Dartz Prombron ‘Black Alligator’ Top Gear, August 2017
- Dartz Prombron Red Diamond Edition: Unsubtle and Bulletproof Carscoops, April 2010
- Dartz Making Prombron ‘White Horse’ for China GT Spirit, March 2014
- Dartz Unveils Armored Prombron Black Alligator MMXX Black Tiger Moon Edition, Announces First Proper EV Carscoops, January 2022
As mentioned in
EXPLORE THE COLLECTION
DARTZ MODELS
DARTZ PROMBRON' Iron.DiamondIron.Diamond 3-door Kapsula KupeDARTZ PROMBRON' Black.DragonMade for China, 2012DARTZ PROMBRON' Aladeen (The DICTATOR)Built for The Dictator, 2012
DARTZ Prombron' Black.Snake 2K13More expensive than Most ExpensiveDARTZ Prombron' Black AlligatorMore Than The Most.
DARTZ Prombron' Black StallionBLACK STALLION
DARTZ PROMBRON' Black.SharkSpy.Grey 2K15PAST MODELSNagel, Jo-Mojo, Kegresse, Shere Khan and moreYour BOND begins with a conversation
DARTZ sells direct: no dealers, no intermediaries. Every enquiry is handled in confidence.
Begin your commission