Five of the planned 11-unit Black Shark production run will go to China, he said. "Chinese like big cars and they like expensive cars. They also want to show their wealth and their uniqueness."
Luxury growth
President Xi Jinping's pledge to stamp out graft among government officials might have hurt the mid-range luxury market, hitting brands like Prada and Remy Cointreau, but the boom in its upper echelons shows no signs of slowing.
"The luxury brands are saying things have definitely slowed in terms of growth, but what they're selling is much more high end and less about logos," said Deborah Aitken, a London-based luxury goods analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "It's moved more toward innate objects that only a true professional would know the value of."
The ranks of China's millionaires swelled by almost a million last year, according to Boston Consulting Group. That's helping support demand for vehicles like Volkswagen's Bugatti Veyron, the world's fastest production car that retails for a minimum $1.85 million, and Koenigsegg Automotive's models starting at $1.4 million.
Chinese market
McLaren Automotive, of Formula One racing fame, expects to sell about 150 cars in China this year, or 10 per cent of global deliveries, Mirko Bordiga, the carmaker's Asia-Pacific regional director, said in April. China accounts for about 25 per cent of vehicle sales for Koenigsegg, which makes 15 cars a year, said Andreas Petre, director and head of sales for the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia.
Daimler's Mercedes Benz unit, whose AMG G63 was the inspiration for the 1,500 horsepower Black Shark, said in April it plans to produce GLA-model crossover sports utility vehicles in China, starting next year.
Brilliance China Automotive Holdings's venture with Bayerische Motoren Werke boosted its sales fivefold from 2009 through 2013 alongside a nationwide luxury car boom that's outpaced the overall passenger vehicle market, BI analyst Steve Man said in a report on Monday. The new 5 Series sedans and the X1 SUV led sales, he said.
Dartz
Yankelovich founded closely held Dartz in 1988 at 22. The company claims a heritage to the Russo-Balt carriage works, which made cars in Riga near the beginning of last century before being nationalised after the 1917 revolution. Dartz produced a $1.8 million homage to the historic brand for the 2006 Villa d'Este Concourse d'Elegance.
"I make money but I'm not near a stage where I'm showing it by buying $100,000 watches or $100,000 phones," Yankelovich said.
The number of SUVs sold in China jumped 33 per cent in the first nine months of the year, data from China Automotive Information Network show. That dwarfs the 4.6 per cent growth the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicts for the overall car market in 2014, a forecast that was itself cut from 8.3 per cent in July and 10 per cent in January. China, the world's second-largest economy, is set for its weakest growth since 1990 this year.
Dartz's Chinese customers will be offered a range of options to make the vehicle "even more luxurious," including traditional lettering and an imperial gold colour scheme, according to Yankelovich. While the price depends on the options chosen, each Black Shark will be "more than a $1 million" and take from four to eight months to complete.
Luxury partnerships
Dartz partners with Vertu, the maker of mobile phones that start at $10,000 - you get two with the Black Shark as well as a subscription to Vertu's concierge service - and Italy's Kolonial Touch, a unit of the Luxpel Group that promises "100 per cent bizarre" leather products, including elephant skin wall coverings.
"Brands and producers are finding ways to collaborate and give cash-rich individuals, particularly in Russia, the Middle East and China, something bespoke that makes a statement about who they are," said Helena Warren, managing director of the Luxury Network for Hong Kong and Britain. "It's about having something a bit out of the ordinary, about a money-can't-buy experience or product you can talk about with your friends."
Shark and ostrich skin interiors aside, when it comes to an everyday drive, an SUV, even one costing north of $1 million, makes a certain kind of sense when compared with vehicles like the Veyron, which can clock 62 mph in 2.6 seconds but has no back seat and limited room for shopping totes.
Muscular look
"It's not so convenient to drive a Bugatti," Yankelovich said. "It's not easy to sit down in or get out of, that's the same with any sports car." The Black Shark on the other hand is "very practical," he said. "It's more than practical because it's bespoke. We make it special for the customer."
While Dartz offers the option of armouring the Black Shark to the B7 standard, which will repel anything up to an armour-piercing round from a standard light machine gun, Yankelovich says most units will only "appear armoured."
That "muscular" look is sought out by customers, he said.
"It's not for protection," he said. "People who are afraid of something, they don't make such a show. When you drive this car, everybody sees you."
- Bloomberg
