It is a project that required several months of cooperation between Costa and the Rimac Automobile engineering team, in which the Rimac Nevera R hypercar played a key role.
The feat itself, successfully carried out on February 15, 2026 on a railway line in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, involved Costa’s Zivko Edge 540 aircraft landing on a container train moving at a speed of 120 km/h and then taking off again. The new video follows Costa to the Rimac Campus in Zagreb and introduces viewers to the program of testing, engineering and personal significance of the project, which Costa describes as one of the most challenging in his career.
Reversing precision
One of the most technically demanding elements during the preparation itself was the use of the Nevera R as a reference platform in motion – driven backwards, at speeds comparable to those required for the actual landing objective. Chief test and development driver for Bugatti Rimac, Miroslav Zrnčević was in charge of driving the Nevera R along the intended line while Costa practiced his landing.
Miroslav ZrnčevićChief Test and Development Driver, Bugatti Rimac, said: “It seemed easy to do it at 140 km/h, but it really wasn’t like that. I had to be precise to the centimeter, driving the Nevera R backwards, without making a mistake. Because if I started to turn left or right than intended, I could create a different airflow for Dario where he doesn’t expect it, since he can’t see me.”
The Nevera R holds the world record for a production car that achieved the highest speed in reverse – 275 km/h. The training program took advantage of that capability, but at lower, operational speeds, providing Costa with a highly accurate moving target on which to develop his landing technique.
Inside the Rimac Campus
The film also follows Costa on a tour of the Rimac Campus in Zagreb, where Mate Rimac took him through the production facility where, at the time of filming, the Nevera R and the Bugatti Tourbillon were simultaneously located.
Mate Rimacfounder and president of Rimac Grupa, said: “This is an incredible moment in history because at the same time we are producing the fastest electric car in the world, the 2,107-horsepower Nevera R, and the fastest car with an internal combustion engine or hybrid drive, the Bugatti Tourbillon. We are doing things that others might not do, because they would be considered too crazy or too risky. We are the ones who push the boundaries of what is possible.”
In addition to the testing program, Rimac engineers designed and manufactured a custom seat for Costa’s cockpit. Working from 3D body scans and applying composite expertise developed through the Nevere program, the team replaced Costa’s original seat with a Kevlar seat adapted to its exact dimensions and calibrated to the required performance: maximum stability, precise steering feedback and reduced physical effort under heavy loads.
Rimac engineers continue to collaborate with Costa on the aerodynamic optimization of his aircraft’s turret, using the company’s CFD expertise, and the collaboration was planned to continue on upcoming projects as well.
