The Tunnel Pass Project

To make a lifelong dream become reality, you need the perfect partners by your side. This was also the story of Red Bull athlete Dario Costa, who not only explored the limits of what is possible but also inspired a global audience with his project: By becoming the first person to ever pilot an aeroplane through a tunnel.

While speed enthusiast Dario Costa and Red Bull tackled the project with exceptional passion, the partners BMW M and luxury watchmaker Hamilton ultimately transformed his vision into five world records.

After selecting the Catalca Tunnel nearby Istanbul as the site, an uncompromising preparatory phase followed, during which Dario was able to minimize his reaction time to 0.25 seconds in a 14-month training period.

Together with partner Hamilton, a special watch was designed, whose dial could be removed and mounted on the console. This kept Dario's eyes focused on the mission while maintaining key timing considerations. BMW M was responsible for the high-speed training. A 360-degree camera on a car roof, installed exactly at Dario's eye level during the flight, enabled him to train over 1,000 times using virtual reality.

Dario's successful tunnel flight not only set five unprecedented World Records, but quickly became viral and attracted global media coverage on TV, in print and on the web. The first video Red Bull posted on social media was viewed more than 5 million times.
The brand partners also benefited: BMW M leveraged exclusive content from the Tunnel Pass for further storytelling around the M Series. And the luxury watch, designed together with brand partner Hamilton and limited to 100 pieces, sold out within minutes.