Screen & Culture

Why DARTZ Says Opulence, Not Luxury: The Philosophy Behind It

By DARTZ Editorial · 1 September 2026 · Updated 4 October 2026

DARTZ calls its cars opulent, not luxurious. Leonard F. Yankelovich told the BBC that luxury is too common a word, one you can buy in a supermarket, and that he uses the word opulence instead. For DARTZ it means things made especially for one owner: gold-plated or titanium buttons, natural materials instead of synthetics, and details only the owner knows are there. It is a tradition taken from the workshops that made objects for the Russian court.

Most carmakers say luxury. DARTZ chose a different word, and its founder will tell you why in a sentence.

One word, chosen on purpose

In a 2015 BBC interview, Leonard F. Yankelovich was asked about the market DARTZ serves. His answer has followed the company ever since.

“Luxury is too common a word… luxury you can buy in a supermarket. I use the word opulence.” Leonard F. Yankelovich to the BBC, 2015, as reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

CarBuzz heard the same idea a decade later. “Luxury today is far too common,” he told its reporter in 2025. The word is not the point. The idea is: something made for one owner, that no one else can have.

What opulence looks like

The BBC’s report on DARTZ described how the idea shows up in a car. Buttons are often gold-plated or made of titanium rather than plastic. And the aim, Yankelovich said, was to recall the workshops that made objects for Russian tsars, where even a screw could be engraved with the owner’s name. Unseen, but the owner would know it was there.

Gold DARTZ steering-wheel buttons set into crocodile leather

Everything in a DARTZ interior follows that rule.

Gold-ringed dials with the DARTZ script on the face.
Quilted leather, with a gold eagle on the headrest.
Natural materials only. Luxurious Magazine noted DARTZ’s exclusive use of natural materials, with no synthetics such as Alcantara.
Crocodile, chosen for a reason. “In reality, we chose it because it is the softest and strongest leather for car seats,” Yankelovich told HotCars.

A chauffeur’s white-gloved hand on a DARTZ steering wheel trimmed in crocodile leather, with gold controls

Opulence you can count

It is also a habit of detail that can be measured. The Black Alligator’s paintwork carries 1,001 black diamonds, melted into dust and lacquered over the bodywork, as Top Gear reported. The Aladeen Edition MMXXII exists in a run of ten, in gold. The gold DARTZ badge carried on cars sold in China is set with 55 diamonds.

Close-up of the black paint of the DARTZ Black Alligator, lacquered with 1,001 black diamonds

The word in the crest

The idea is written into the DARTZ coat of arms. Black stands for bravery and immortality, and gold for value and opulence. An infinity ring around the crest stands for Infinite Opulence, and the company’s motto is Bulletproof Opulence. The winged skull at its centre honours two men from the works DARTZ descends from: the pilot and aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky and the racer André Nágel.

Beyond the car

The Department of Opulence carries the same philosophy to the objects an owner wears and carries, including bulletproof fashion. As the department puts it, it is where expensive things become priceless.

“We all live in what we are doing – that’s why in every car is our soul.” Leonard F. Yankelovich, Luxurious Magazine, 2020

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

Why does DARTZ say opulence instead of luxury?

Leonard F. Yankelovich told the BBC that luxury is too common a word, one you can buy in a supermarket, and that he uses the word opulence. It stands for things made for one owner.

What is a BOND?

A Bespoke Opulent Noble Drive. It is the word DARTZ uses for its vehicles instead of SUV.

What materials does DARTZ use?

Natural materials, not synthetics. Press coverage records exclusive use of natural materials, and a founder who chose crocodile because it is the softest and strongest leather for car seats.

What are the details of a DARTZ interior?

Buttons that are gold-plated or made of titanium rather than plastic, quilted leather with hand-set gold crests, gold-ringed dials and hand-stitched crocodile leather.

What is the Department of Opulence?

The DARTZ department for opulent objects beyond the car, including bulletproof fashion. It applies the same idea to what an owner wears and carries.