Europe’s Fastest, Highest Roller Coaster Opens

Superlatives are commonplace in roller coaster parlance — fastest, most thrilling, longest drop, etc.

Europe will soon be home to the world’s fastest and highest roller coaster when the 112-meter ride, under construction at the PortAventura theme park in Spain, opens later this year.

Passengers will travel at more than 110 mph in a ride that recreates the experience of being a Formula 1 driver. That speed will be reached at just five seconds, giving riders the equivalent of 1.35 G. After being shot into the air, riders plummet down again and hit a 90-degree angle, just as if they were taking sharp turns on a race-car track.

The ride sits in the new Ferrari Land development — where else?

Luis Carlos Valencia, development manager, PortAventura, said, “It has been an operation of almost surgical precision, only possible under optimal wind conditions.”

He added, “The greatest challenge faced by PortAventura Resort’s development team has been to create a project that faithfully reproduces the essence of Ferrari with the utmost respect for PortAventura Parks’ own special way of creating dreams for visitors.”