The world of elite aviation and hypercar engineering collided on February 15, 2026, when Red Bull athlete Dario Costa performed a feat previously dismissed as “too dangerous”: landing a Zivko Edge 540 stunt plane on a container traveling at 120 km/h. To celebrate the success, Rimac Automobili has released an extended film detailing the high-stakes collaboration that made the Afyonkarahisar milestone possible.
The Reverse Benchmark
Preparation for the landing required a moving reference point that could match the aircraft’s approach speeds with absolute stability. Rimac’s solution was as unconventional as the stunt itself: using the Nevera R to drive in reverse at 140 km/h.
Miroslav Zrnčević, Chief Development Driver for Bugatti Rimac, was tasked with maintaining a centimeter-perfect lateral line while Costa rehearsed overhead. Utilizing the Nevera R’s world-record-holding reverse capability (which tops out at 275 km/h), the team provided Costa with a high-precision target.
“Doing it at 140 km/h sounded easy, but it was really not,” Zrnčević noted. “As soon as I move left or right, it creates a wake for Dario he isn’t expecting. He doesn’t see me; I had to be 100 percent on point.”
Composite Connection: The 3D-Molded Cockpit
The collaboration went beyond the tarmac. Rimac engineers utilized the same composite expertise used to build the 2,107-hp Nevera R to overhaul Costa’s cockpit. Using 3D body scans, the team manufactured a custom-molded Kevlar seat tailored to Costa’s exact dimensions.
This was a mechanical necessity for what Costa calls “motor embodiment.” During the final seconds of the landing, the nose of the plane completely obscures the moving target. In this blind window, the tactile feedback through the Rimac-engineered seat became the pilot’s primary source of information, providing the stability and control feedback needed to stick the landing under high-G loads.
A Convergence of Titans
The film captures a unique moment at Rimac’s Zagreb facility. During Costa’s visit, the assembly floor simultaneously housed the Nevera R the world’s fastest electric car and the Bugatti Tourbillon the world’s pinnacle hybrid-combustion machine.
“We are about things that others would not do, or would consider too crazy,” said Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac. “We just go ahead and do it.”
The partnership isn’t over. Rimac’s CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) engineers are currently working with Costa on aerodynamic optimizations for his aircraft canopy, ensuring that the lessons learned from the world’s most powerful hypercars continue to push the boundaries of the sky.
