Car Culture

Red Bull Racing Lives the Urban Car Marketer’s Sociopathic Dream

There are a lot of gasp-inducing moments in Red Bull Racing's new video to promote the Formula One Grand Prix of America, scheduled for Weehawken and Union City in June 2013.

By Stephen Miller

9:13 AM PDT on September 6, 2012

There are a lot of gasp-inducing moments in Red Bull Racing’s new video to promote the Formula One Grand Prix of America, scheduled for Weehawken and Union City in June 2013.

First, there’s the introduction: the national anthem being played by the dulcet tones of a revving engine. Then there are shots of the driver speeding along the walkway at Liberty State Park and through the streets of Weehawken, before heading down an empty Lincoln Tunnel to really open up the throttle.

The Lincoln Tunnel shots are spliced with images of crowded Manhattan streets — implying, but not actually showing, the danger of a high-speed tour of the Big Apple. Then there’s the finale: a Formula One driver burning rubber and doing donuts as two cyclists circle around him in what might be a bizarre share-the-road message.

It’s a video that lots of carmakers would drool over as a way to sell their driving machines.

According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the shoot occurred on August 13 and 14, closing the Liberty State Park waterfront walkway to the public. We’ve reached out to the Township of Weehawken Police Department and Red Bull Racing for additional comment on how the video was shot.

Stephen Miller

In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation. From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.

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