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A DARTZ Prombron’ Black line BOND in the DARTZ showroom

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What Is a BOND? Why DARTZ Doesn't Build SUVs

By DARTZ Editorial · · Updated

BOND stands for Bespoke Opulent Noble Drive, the word DARTZ uses instead of SUV for every vehicle it builds. Bespoke, because each car is built for one client. Opulent, because DARTZ says luxury is too common a word. Noble, because the house has supplied royal courts since the 19th century. Drive, for what it does. DARTZ's reasoning: its clients already own the sports cars they want, and their staff drive the utility vehicles.

Every carmaker has a word for a big, tall car. DARTZ has a word for what its clients actually buy.

Four letters
B Bespoke Built for you, and only you
O Opulent Because, as DARTZ says, luxury you can buy in a supermarket
N Noble A house that has supplied royal courts since the 19th century
D Drive D for DARTZ, D for Drive

A DARTZ Prombron’ Black Stallion at night outside the DARTZ hall

Why not SUV

DARTZ explains it with a simple observation about its clients. They already own every sports car they have ever wanted, and if one does not exist, they order it. They do not need a utility vehicle either: in DARTZ’s words, they visit shopping malls, but they don’t load the boot themselves, and their staff drive the utility cars. What they still need is a vehicle made for them.

Leonard F. Yankelovich put it more bluntly to New Atlas in 2014: for DARTZ’s clients, the word SUV “degrades the car” to a category that includes farmer’s trucks and grocery-shopping vehicles.

A position taken early

DARTZ says its founder first declared that a DARTZ is not an SUV in Forbes in 2013, at the launch of the Prombron’ Black Snake. It points out, with some satisfaction, that another maker of large, opulent cars later decided its own was not an SUV either. Whether the two are connected, DARTZ says, no one can confirm or deny.

The DARTZ Prombron’ Black Snake 2K13, launched in 2013

What makes a BOND

A BOND is defined less by its shape than by how it is made.

Close-up of the black paint of the DARTZ Black Alligator, lacquered with diamond dust

  • One client. Each car is specified in a private consultation, not chosen from a brochure. The general DARTZ design language is the only fixed point.
  • Armoured or not. Every Prombron’ can be built either way, with DARTZ’s GBOL armour.
  • Natural materials. DARTZ uses real leather, wood and metal, and says it will not use eco leather or even Alcantara.
  • Real buttons. DARTZ stays out of what it calls the “my monitor is bigger” competition, with metal switches and analogue gauges.
  • No dealers. “We have no dealers. And we have no plans to have dealers,” Leonard F. Yankelovich told HotCars. “Our strategy is to have direct sales.”

Read how the whole family fits together in the DARTZ model guide.

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

What does BOND stand for?

Bespoke Opulent Noble Drive.

Is a DARTZ an SUV?

DARTZ says no. It calls every car it builds a BOND, and has avoided the word SUV since at least 2013, when Leonard F. Yankelovich said so in Forbes at the launch of the Black Snake.

Why does DARTZ avoid the word SUV?

Leonard F. Yankelovich told New Atlas in 2014 that the term degrades the car to a category of farmer's trucks and grocery shopping vehicles. DARTZ adds that its clients already own their sports cars and give the utility vehicles to their staff.

Can I buy a DARTZ BOND from a dealer?

No. DARTZ has no dealers and sells directly. Every BOND begins with an enquiry to the office of Leonard F. Yankelovich.

EXPLORE THE COLLECTION

DARTZ MODELS

DARTZ Prombron' Iron DiamondDARTZ PROMBRON' Iron.DiamondIron.Diamond 3-door Kapsula KupeDARTZ Prombron' Black DragonDARTZ PROMBRON' Black.DragonMade for China, 2012DARTZ Prombron' AladeenDARTZ PROMBRON' Aladeen (The DICTATOR)Built for The Dictator, 2012DARTZ Prombron' Black Snake 2K13DARTZ Prombron' Black.Snake 2K13More expensive than Most ExpensiveDARTZ Prombron' Black AlligatorDARTZ Prombron' Black AlligatorMore Than The Most.DARTZ Prombron' Black StallionDARTZ Prombron' Black StallionBLACK STALLIONDARTZ Prombron' Black Shark Spy.Grey 2K15DARTZ PROMBRON' Black.SharkSpy.Grey 2K15DARTZ Prombron’ Nagel with its matching powerboat on a Monaco quayPAST MODELSNagel, Jo-Mojo, Kegresse, Shere Khan and more

Your BOND begins with a conversation

DARTZ sells direct: no dealers, no intermediaries. Every enquiry is handled in confidence.

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