Road Trip: Red Bull Hangar 7
By Sarah Forst
Just west of Salzburg, Austria is an F1 fans wet dream: Red Bull Hangars 7 and 8, a hybrid of awesome sauce- part car museum, art gallery, nightspot, and gourmet epicurean experience. Its unique architecture- a near transparent multi-faceted shell resembling an airplane hangar- is home to F1 racecars in sequential order. It is also home to the Flying Bulls collection and some racing motorcycles.
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| Hangar 7 is located at the Salzburg Airport. It houses a collection of F1 cars, the Flying Bulls aircraft, some bars and restaurants, and even art exhibitions. |
Thanks to Dietrich Mateschitz, co-founder of Red Bull, this is quite possibly the coolest private collection of airplanes and F1 cars in Europe. Hangar 7 is home to all the exhibits and is under the Red Bull name. It's open to the public and better yet, it's free! Its lounges and swanky bars seem more suited for Vegas. Hangar 8 is the maintenance wing under the Flying Bulls moniker. Hangar 8 is closed to the public but more than 60 people maintain the fleet of more than 20 Red Bull aircraft.
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| Hangar 7 is also home to a few bars, lounges, and a Michelin starred restaurant. Best yet- it's free to the public! |
The amazing architecture is one of the first things you notice as you pull up to the museum. 1,200 tons of steel and 380 tons of special glass were used in the construction. Those 380 tons of glass are actually 1,754 individual pieces that were custom made in China. They provide a beautiful panorama against the Austrian Alps backdrop. None of the glass pieces has the exact same shape as any other piece in the dome. Salzburg architect Volkmar Burgstaller used specially written 3-D simulation software to design a structure with slim steel supports and invisible HVAC piping. Three self-supporting ribs span the Hangar 7 hall, which is 330 feet long, 220 feet wide, and 49 feet high.
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| You can see the Douglas DC-6B, Yugoslavia's “Air Force One”, parked between Hangar 7 on the left (open to the public) and Hangar 8 on the right, the maintenance hangar for the Flying Bulls. This vintage four prop plane often transports VIP's to F1 races. |
Hangar 7 houses two bars, a lounge and a restaurant, Ikarus. The Mayday Bar offers a “smart food” theme from Brain Food to Mood Food to Beauty Food. The Threesixty Bar floats above the cars and planes and can be reached via a narrow bridge. It offers a birds eye view of the exhibits via its glass floor. The Carpe Diem Lounge offers Austrian specialties of currywurst, and smoked salmon, leek, and mustard-cucumber salad as well as a variety of cakes. There is also another outdoor lounge when the weather is nice. The Ikarus restaurant is a Michelin starred restaurant offering culinary creations with exotic ingredients from around the world. Now that you've had your fill of Austrian delicacies, I'm sure you're hungry for some F1 treats for dessert!
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| The Threesixty Bar at Hangar 7, home to many an upskirt shot I'm sure… Since building codes require two exits, there is a box with a ladder on one side in addition to the ramp walkway. |
