GTA armored vehicle becomes a real car in a US$ 1 million order

An anonymous customer paid about US$ 1 million, approximately R$ 5,2 million, to remove one of the most imposing vehicles in the Grand Theft Auto franchise from the video game. That’s because Latvia’s Dartz Motorz is in the final adjustments of a real unit of the HVY Nightshark, GTA Online’s armored SUV, which should be presented in November in Miami. The value was reported by the specialized website Rockstar Intel.

Unlike static replicas made for exhibition, Dartz says that the model will be fully functional and will be able to run. The automaker, known for exotic armored vehicles, has not released a technical sheet, definitive name or interior details, and says that the car is being built by hand.

The way back from pixels

The order reverses the usual order between industry and video games. When Rockstar Games included the Nightshark in GTA Online in August 2017, players soon pointed out similarities with Dartz’s own models, such as the Kombat, the Black Shark and the Black Snake. The virtual vehicle was never licensed by the manufacturer.

Almost nine years later, it is the automaker that builds what the pixels were trying to represent, according to the company’s founder and president, Leonard Yankelovich, who named the project “Final Boss”. Dartz is keen to stress that the initiative is independent: there is no partnership or licensing agreement with Rockstar or Take-Two Interactive.

The final finishing and polishing is being done at the company’s plant in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The identity of the buyer remains confidential — Dartz did not even inform whether the customer is an individual or an organization.

GTA VI

debut this weekThe public presentation is scheduled for November 2026 in Miami, the week of the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, scheduled for the 19th of that month on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles, after successive postponements. The choice of city dialogues with the game’s setting: the fictional Vice City is inspired by Miami.

In the game, the Nightshark sells for 1,245,000 in virtual money on the Warstock Cache & Carry website, resists rockets and grenades and reaches 168.58 km/h. The new chapter of the series will also bring other cars inspired by real models, including the Porsche 911, the Dodge Viper, the Ford Crown Victoria and the Ferrari Testarossa.