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What Is GBOL? DARTZ's Armour Technology, in DARTZ's Words

By DARTZ Editorial · 5 September 2026 · Updated 4 October 2026

GBOL is DARTZ's own armour technology. DARTZ says it was previously used only in military work, that the Black Alligator MMXX was the first civilian car built with it, and that an armoured car made with GBOL weighs about the same as its donor car, so it keeps its performance. DARTZ uses it on the Black Alligator, Black Dragon CLV, Black Stallion CLV and Aladeen Edition, and offers it for other cars too.

Armour has always had one enemy: its own weight. DARTZ says it has an answer, and it calls it GBOL.

What DARTZ says GBOL is

GBOL is DARTZ’s own armouring technology. DARTZ has not published how it works, but it has said a good deal about what it does.

It came from the military. DARTZ says the technology was previously used only in military work.
The first civilian car was the Black Alligator MMXX. DARTZ calls it the first car it built with GBOL.
It keeps the weight down. DARTZ says an armoured car made with GBOL weighs about the same as its donor car, where armour usually adds a great deal.
Non-armoured is lighter still. A non-armoured GBOL body, DARTZ says, weighs less than the donor car.

Why weight matters

The point, as DARTZ puts it, is not to stand and test the armour. A car that weighs what it was designed to weigh keeps its brakes, its handling and its acceleration, so the client can leave the line of fire and leave the professionals to deal with the threat. “We don’t drop jaws testing car against bullets with metal balls when things go not our way,” DARTZ writes. “In case you tick ‘protect’, it will protect.”

A DARTZ steering wheel trimmed in crocodile leather with gold controls

Which cars use it

Car	What DARTZ says
Black Alligator MMXX	The first civilian car built with GBOL, with Bohemian sapphire glass
Black Dragon CLV	A Pullman saloon on the Mercedes-Maybach GLS; the armoured car weighs about as much as the Maybach
Black Stallion CLV	A GBOL body on a GMT 825 frame
Aladeen Edition MMXXII	GBOL armour rated BR2 as standard, STANAG 2 optional

The DARTZ Prombron’ Black Alligator MMXX from the rear

The glass

GBOL is not only about panels. For the Black Alligator MMXX, DARTZ uses sapphire glass made in Bohemia, which it says gives the same protection at half the thickness of ordinary armoured glass.

Extreme close-up of the edge of bullet-resistant glass, showing its laminated layers

For other cars

DARTZ also offers GBOL beyond its own models. Its armouring service, which it calls Prêt-à-Porter Blindée, applies the technology to other cars. Read how DARTZ armours a client’s own car.

What to ask

Whatever the technology, a client is entitled to know the standard, the class and the test. Our guide to protection levels explains how to read them.

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 is GBOL?

DARTZ's own armour technology. DARTZ says it was previously used only in military work.

What does GBOL do?

DARTZ says an armoured car built with GBOL weighs about the same as the car it started from, so it keeps its performance, and that a non-armoured GBOL body is lighter than the donor.

Which DARTZ cars use GBOL?

The Black Alligator MMXX, which DARTZ calls the first civilian GBOL car, the Black Dragon CLV, the Black Stallion CLV and the Aladeen Edition MMXXII.

What protection level does GBOL reach?

It depends on the build. The Aladeen Edition MMXXII is rated BR2 as standard with STANAG 2 available.

Can GBOL be fitted to other cars?

DARTZ says its GBOL technology is available for every car, through its armouring service.

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