A real-life GTA Online Nightshark: DARTZ builds a drivable 1:1 replica with a fighter jet ejection seat
DARTZ is building a real, drivable replica of GTA Online's HVY Nightshark for a client who paid more than $1 million, with a fighter jet ejection seat, a metal weapon wheel buckle and an in-car gaming setup, revealed in Miami during GTA VI's launch week.
When the game car becomes a real car
GTA Online's HVY Nightshark has been a fan favorite since it arrived with the Gunrunning update in 2017 — an armored four-seat brute that shrugs off explosives and rams through traffic. Its styling, however, never came entirely from Rockstar's imagination: the boxy silhouette and aggressive armor clearly nod to the ultra-exclusive armored SUVs of DARTZ, the Latvian coachbuilder known for the Prombron Black Shark and its even wilder siblings.
Now the inspiration has come full circle. In an exclusive report, RockstarINTEL reveals that DARTZ is building a drivable 1:1 replica of the HVY Nightshark for a private client — a machine reportedly worth over $1 million, with an interior designed around one very specific fantasy: driving the Nightshark from inside the Nightshark.
A fighter jet ejection seat in the rear cabin
The most striking detail is the rear passenger area. Instead of the usual luxury bench, the client commissioned a single throne: a former fighter jet ejection seat, adapted for automotive use. DARTZ is careful to note the seat has no actual ejection function — but the aircraft frame, exposed mechanics and rails remain visible, giving the cabin a genuinely aerospace feel.
The details keep the GTA theme going. A five-point harness carries NIGHTSHARK lettering, and the seatbelt buckle is a physical metal weapon wheel, engraved with the positions players know from the game: grenade, pistol, Uzi, rifle, sniper, launcher, shotgun and melee. A DARTZ skull sits on the headrest, and gun ports are integrated into the surrounding trim.
Drive the Nightshark from inside the Nightshark
The client's brief, according to DARTZ founder Leonard F. Yankelovich, was to play the game inside the vehicle itself. The rear cabin hides a low-latency gaming display that fills the forward view, a current-generation console tucked behind the trim, satellite internet to keep the player connected, and a high-end integrated sound system. For private listening there is even a sculptural Metaxas & Sins electrostatic headphone system with a skull form and Swiss tourbillon beside the seat.
DARTZ describes three modes for the passenger to enjoy, though it keeps the full list under wraps. The company says the car is also ready for GTA VI this November — the game itself may well add more Nightshark-style fun once it launches.
Luxury without animal skin
Given the Nightshark's name, DARTZ says a shark texture would "belong" inside it, and an alligator texture would suit a car heading to Miami. The customer, however, was explicit: no real animal skin. Instead, the coachbuilder is using animal-free upholstery built from automotive-grade engineered surfaces combined with bio-based and plant-derived components — the goal being to keep the outrageously expensive feel of exotic leather without the shark, the alligator or the whale.
A Miami reveal for GTA VI's launch week
Several details remain secret: the client's identity, the final exterior, the underlying platform, the console brand and the protection specification. DARTZ says the completed vehicle is planned for an independent reveal in Miami during the week of GTA VI's currently announced November 2026 launch — a fitting backdrop for a car born in Rockstar's version of Florida.
For clarity, the project is independent: it is not sponsored, endorsed, approved or licensed by Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive. The Nightshark may have started as pixels in Los Santos, but this particular one is heading to the real world — just in time for Vice City.
September 28 update: your name on a real car, priced by the centimetre
On September 28, RockstarINTEL went beyond reporting the build: the outlet announced it has "teamed up with DARTZ" to sell its readers space on the Nightshark's livery, inside a 100 × 25 cm rectangle it controls on the car's left flank — a spot for a name, a GTA Online crew, a roleplay server, an advertisement or a message (RockstarINTEL).
The price ladder, published on DARTZ's own ordering page, is the part other outlets have not documented. Fans: a 1 × 1 cm "Mark" at $19, a 4 × 1 cm "Username" at $69, a 3 × 2 cm "Small logo" at $99, a 3 × 3 cm "Crew space" at $149. Creators and crews: $790 for 10 × 5 cm, $1,490 for 10 × 10 cm. Sharks: $3,490 (15 × 15 cm), $5,900 (20 × 20 cm) and $8,900 (25 × 25 cm), the last three flagged "last few". On September 28 the page reported 25.4% of the zone claimed.
Read per square centimetre — our calculation from those prices — the ladder is almost flat: $19.00 per cm² for the 1 × 1 cm mark, $16.50 for 3 × 2 cm, $14.90 for 10 × 10 cm and $14.24 for the 25 × 25 cm Boss Shark. The flagship format costs 469 times the smallest but gives up only about 25% per cm². Sold entirely at the published rates, the 2,500 cm² of the zone would be worth roughly $36,000 to $47,500 — a hypothetical figure, since some slots are already taken.
Two details are easy to miss. Placement is not chosen: after payment the artwork is dropped automatically into a free slot matching the size bought, and the file is uploaded later through an emailed link (DARTZ). And the scheme belongs to a fan site, not to Rockstar — the car is a private commission for a client who paid over $1 million, and the project remains "not sponsored, endorsed, approved or licensed" by Rockstar Games or Take-Two (RockstarINTEL). The top bracket is called "Sharks", the same word Rockstar uses for the Shark Cards that sell in-game currency for real money.
