Racecoaster: World's Fastest Coaster to Be Built in
Germany
Germany may soon be home to the world's fastest roller coaster as Racecoaster at Nurburgring will shatter the current record in 2009. While Six Flags Great Adventure's Kingda Ka tops out at a blistering 128 mph, Racecoaster will push the envelope even further with a top speed of 134 mph (217 km/h).
Unlike Kingda Ka's hydraulic launch, this new coaster will be built by S&S Power using an air launch system (similar to the defunct Hypersonic XLC). The acceleration offered by Racecoaster will be unbelievable. It will provide a 0 to 134 mph in only 2.5 seconds. Kingda Ka doesn't reach it's top speed until 3.5 seconds. The bottom line is that this is going to be one intense launch.
Racecoaster will be built along side an actual race track at Nurburgring. Below are some excerpts from a translated article about the ride:
"Acceleration more powerful than on any race car: "Racecoaster" offers a more authentic version of this experience than any other. The strained feeling before the start, the rising adrenaline, the driver being pushed back into his seat as the traffic light turns to green and the race begins."
"After the passengers enter through a railway station in the new indoor attraction, Racecoaster's launch runs parallel to the Grand Prix stretch on the race track, with its starting point aligned to the starting line of the track. Here, the vehicle accelerates to its top speed of 217 km/h, travels 480 meters (1574.8 ft) along the race track then sharply curves to the left. The coaster's route leads back through the Boulevard and ends again in the railway station. Each of the coaster's two four-car vehicles is capable of transporting eight passengers. Altogether, the coaster travels 1.2 kilometers (3937.01 feet) in its adrenaline-packed course."
Like Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka it sounds like pretty short ride. Racecoaster won't even offer any kind of top hat or hill. But the point will be the launch and the speed and that will likely bring enthusiasts and thrill junkies from all over the world. The full translated article can be found here. Props to CoasterForce for translating the article. It's a great site, especially for information on international theme parks and coasters.
UPDATE - It looks like this coaster has been renamed, ring°racer according to the RCDB listing. It's set to open June 11, 2009 in Rhineland-Palatinate Germany.
Ring°racer's not the first coaster to incorporate cars/automobiles. The Italian Job coasters at three of the former Paramount parks featured Mini Cooper-like trains. Check out my full review of Italian Job at Kings Island. Maximum RPM!, which just opened at the new Hard Rock Park features British convertible sports cars and on-board radios. More on Maximum RPM, including a video. A small park in New Market, Maryland has an old steel coaster called Wildcat. It's cars are designed to look like 60's muscle cars including: Yenko Camaro, SS Camaro, 340 Cuda, 1960's Police Cruiser, Mustang.
Aside from cars, there are also a number of coasters that feature motorcyle-like trains. This year, Darien Lake opened Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster. Check out more information on the motocoaster and its Pony Express and OCC versions.
What do you think of this new record breaking roller coaster? Leave a comment below.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Racecoaster to be World's Fastest Roller Coaster
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4 comments:
i think that this coaster will be bad for a couple of reasons. 1 because it may be the fastest coaster but its not worth being the fastest if there isn't anything cool about it. it should have a inversion of some sort. 2 the launch will be way to intense. and 3 because im not traveling all the way to germany to ride a ride that wont be longer than 45 seconds
Who cares if it doesn't have a hill? Its the lauch which makes it so awesome. If you can't handle the speed then don't ride it!
brilliant idea....shame about location....
germany....not best for parks now is it
and to go here for one ride....that would be it
no other rides or attractions
would of been brilliant in the uk where we cant build high
but still go fast :)
I'm not sure if I'm a huge fan of this ride. I've been an enthusiast for quite a while now, I've been in the front seat of both "Kingda Ka" and "Top Thrill Dragster." From what I gather, it launches, makes a turn, and then is over.
The only thing that make KK and TTD worth it are their top hat elements, other.
In terms of the speed, I'm not sure that we want to go all that much faster. From the front seat of KK and TTD, I remember that my cheeks were being pushed back, it was hard to breath, and the wind combined with the acceleration had you completely pinned. Even my eyelids were pushed off my eye an being pulled away from my face. We can only go so much faster before it's just not practical or safe.
That acceleration is also blistering. I can't imagine the amount of force between a 135 mile per hour wind and a very powerful acceleration G.
And eight riders per train? Not much of a capacity.
Bottom line is, I'm not sure if I'll ever even be interesting in it.
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