Thorpe Park hypes new coaster
Thorpe Park hypes new coaster
UK’s tallest thrill machine is on the way
There aren’t a heckuva lotta details known about Hyperia, which is set to open next year at Thorpe Park in England. But we do know these impressive nuggets: At a height of 236 feet and a top speed over 80 mph, it will take the crown as the tallest and fastest coaster in England.
To be built by Mack Rides, the park is characterizing Hyperia as a hypercoaster. Its announced height and speed stats conform to the typical parameters of such a ride (roughly 200 to 250 feet tall and 70 to 80 mph). But, an animated video rendering released by the park appears to indicate that it will incorporate inversions–one of which will apparently be a massive zero-G stall–which hypercoasters generally do not include. The midway darlings are generally all about speed and airtime. The ride should deliver in both of those categories as well.
It’s a bit hard to tell in the stylish, gauzy video, but it looks as if Hyperia will sport a fashionably colored track that will alternate between white and gold. The ride’s name, Thorpe says, references the Greek goddess Hyperia as well as its status as a hypercoaster.
It will be the park’s eighth coaster and join a list of some doozies, including Colossus, which features ten inversions; the inverted Nemesis Inferno; a horror-themed double feature of Saw – The Ride and The Walking Dead – The Ride; the wing coaster, Swarm; and Stealth, a hydraulic launch coaster that soars 205 feet and hits 80 mph. Stealth is currently the U.K.’s fastest coaster and the fifth-fastest coaster in Europe. At 213 feet, The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach has long reigned as the U.K.’s tallest coaster but will relinquish its title next season. Hyperia will be Mack Ride’s tallest coaster and likely its fastest (the manufacturer’s Beyond the Cloud at Suzhou Amusement Land Forest World in China now tops its list at 80.5 mph).
In other coaster news out of Europe, Vindfald will debut next year at Tivoli Friheden in Denmark. The eight-passenger cars on the Euro-Fighter model coaster from Gerstlauer will climb a 75-foot vertical lift, drop straight down, and hit 45 mph before navigating a loop and a corkscrew. It will be the park’s fourth coaster. “Vindfald” means “windfall” in Danish.
Have you ever been to Thorpe Park? (It’s on my bucket list.) Based on the teaser video, what are your thoughts about the ride?