The Spirit of Victors: The Story Behind the DARTZ Skull Crest

A skull is not the first thing most carmakers put on a car. DARTZ put one at the centre of everything, and has a reason for every part of it.

Two faces in one skull

The DARTZ badge is a winged metal skull in a helmet, set in an octagon. DARTZ calls it the Spirit of Victors, and says it is drawn from the faces of two men who began their careers at the Russo-Baltic works, RBVZ: Igor Sikorsky, head of the Aeronautical Department, who made RBVZ famous in the sky, and André Nágel, its press attaché and racing chief, who made it famous on land.

Born on New Year’s Eve, 1911

DARTZ traces the idea to 31 December 1911, when Nágel set off from St Petersburg for the 1912 Monte Carlo Rally. RBVZ engineers made him a mascot, DARTZ says, but as a Royal Court Supplier the car had to carry the Imperial Eagle instead. In Monaco, Nágel drew a sketch and signed it in French: L’Esprit de Victors. DARTZ counts 1911 and 1912 as the birth of the Spirit of Victors.

Why a skull

DARTZ’s answer comes from its history. The works built armoured trains and cars, Sikorsky’s four-engine bombers and, DARTZ says, perhaps the first tank. For soldiers, the skull has always meant bravery and immortality: it was painted on armoured cars and aircraft and worn as a regimental badge. The skull, DARTZ adds, is the only bone that never rots. “This skull is not a symbol of death,” its own description reads. “It is the eternal face of those who refuse to die.”

And it is Art Deco because DARTZ is from Riga, which DARTZ calls the capital of Art Deco.

The rest of the crest

The skull sits at the heart of the DARTZ Grupa coat of arms.

• Two golden griffins, the symbol of Riga, stand over crossed cannons. Each sits inside a gauge, one a speedometer, one a tachometer.
• An infinity ring joins the gauges: Infinite Opulence.
• Black stands for bravery and immortality, gold for value and opulence.
• The skull itself is shaped from the imagery of train wheels, DARTZ says, a nod to the carriage works where it all began.

24 February 2022: the Z comes off

Until 24 February 2022, the DARTZ logo carried a Z, the last letter of the alphabet, which DARTZ saw as a mark of excellence. On that day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the Z became its symbol: painted on the occupying forces’ tanks and trucks, and displayed by those who support the war. DARTZ condemned the invasion and removed the letter. “Z is no longer in the DARTZ Black Book,” the company writes, and the Spirit of Victors became its identity.

DARTZ’s history pages carry the same position: it does not endorse any imperial, militaristic or totalitarian ideology, and it condemns Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

On the cars

The Spirit of Victors rides on the bonnet of the Black Stallion, and on the CLV anniversary cars DARTZ turns the whole grille into the badge. The Picassian Sliced grille of the Black Stallion CLV has the two profiles, Sikorsky’s and Nágel’s, cut into it.