Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Legacy Archives

Electric shocks, Kevlar, and retinal scanners? Dartz’s Black Shark SUV is built for spies

Add as a preferred source on Google

I get the feeling that the product designers over at Dartz aren’t told ‘no’ very often.

An SUV covered in gold? Please do. Ruby encrusted gauges? Easily approved. A 155-mph, 2000-horsepower armored yacht tower? Dear god yes.

Recommended Videos

The Latvian manufacturer has created yet another example of concentrated Soviet chutzpah, one that the company calls the “first real SpyKar.”

Designated the Prombron Black Shark, the Kevlar-coated titanium SUV was devised to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Dartz’s militaristic ancestors, the Russian Motorized Infantry.

To honor its battle-hardened past, Dartz has equipped the Black Shark with an array of superspy-worthy gadgets. The most notable is the “anti-paparazzi shock device” fitted to the disappearing door handles, but there’s also a retinal scanner, a rotating bulletproof grill, and a BlackJet system that allows drivers to book private international flights with just two clicks of a button.

It doesn’t get any more “SpyKar” than that.

Moreover, the Mercedes GL 63-based Black Shark can be armed with one of two AMG engines, a biturbo V8 or a biturbo V12. With the larger engine, Dartz offers a maximum output of 1500 hp.

Related: The Dartz Kombat Gold is 24 karats and 6,600 pounds of pure, unadulterated hubris

If the Black Shark doesn’t make it into the upcoming Bond 24 movie, something is wrong with the world.

Imagine Daniel Craig roaring around the streets of an ominous Slavic village, his sleek Aston Martin howling in the wind like a crazed wolf. Behind him, an enormous, tank-like brute thrashes through cobblestone byways, its cacophonous engine punctuated by the sporadic gunfire of a thousand unnamed baddies.

I don’t know about you, but I’d pay to see it. Dartz will fully detail the Black Shark on October 19th.

Andrew Hard
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
Polestar forced to exit the US market. It’s a shame we won’t see its refined design anymore
Boring EVs caught a break as Americans lose Polestar
polestar-3-ev

Polestar, the Swedish EV brand controlled by China’s Geely, has been denied authorization under the US Connected Vehicle Rule. As a result, it will not be able to sell vehicles in the US from the 2027 model year onward. The company is not disappearing from American roads overnight. Polestar says it will continue selling existing US inventory of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4, and current owners will still have access to service support. But for future models, the door is effectively closing unless something changes.

Polestar 3

Read more
The Wild West era of robotaxis is starting to end
New global rules could replace patchwork regulation with stricter safety proof for driverless fleets.
Self driving car from Waymo

Robotaxi rules have entered their first global phase. A UN vehicle standards forum has adopted the first international framework for fully autonomous vehicles, giving driverless fleets a common safety baseline across major markets.

The move lands while robotaxis are expanding from test programs into a bigger commercial race. In the US and China, private fleets more than doubled in 2025 to 8,000 vehicles across more than two dozen major cities.

Read more
Google Meet finally lands on Android Auto, giving you one less excuse to skip a meeting
Android users can now join scheduled meetings and audio calls from their car's dashboard, catching up to what iPhone users have had for months.
Google Meet on Android Auto

Android Auto is finally getting Google Meet, months after the video conferencing app made its debut on Apple CarPlay. Android users can now pull up scheduled meetings and dial recent contacts straight from their car's display instead of reaching for their phone.

How it works behind the wheel

Read more