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| Colossus | |
|---|---|
 | |
 View ofColossus | |
| Thorpe Park | |
| Location | Thorpe Park |
| Park section | Lost City |
| Coordinates | 51°24′12″N0°30′47″W / 51.403243°N 0.512959°W /51.403243; -0.512959 |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | 22 March 2002 |
| Cost | £13,500,000 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Intamin |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Multi Inversion Coaster |
| Track layout | 10 Inversion Revision A |
| Lift/launch system | Chainlift hill |
| Height | 98 ft (30 m) |
| Drop | 97 ft (30 m) |
| Length | 2,789 ft (850 m) |
| Speed | 45 mph (72 km/h) |
| Inversions | 10 |
| Duration | 1:32 |
| G-force | 4.2 |
| Height restriction | 140–196 cm (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 5 in) |
| Trains | 2 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train. |
| Restraints | Over the shoulder restraints |
 Fastrack available | |
 Wheelchair accessible | |
| Colossus at RCDB | |
Colossus is a steelroller coaster atThorpe Park inSurrey,England, and the park's first major attraction. It was built by Liechtenstein-based manufacturersIntamin and designed byWerner Stengel as an adaptation ofMonte Makaya inBrazil. Colossus is well known for being the world's first roller coaster with teninversions; an exact replica, called the10 Inversion Roller Coaster, was later built atChimelong Paradise inGuangzhou,China.[1] It retained its title of having the most inversions on any other roller coaster in the world untilThe Smiler atAlton Towers took the record in 2013.[2]
ManufacturerIntamin used a similartrain style to their Mega Coaster models, which are exposed by removing the sides of the train. This caused problems as riders could lift their legs outside of the train whilst it was in motion.[3] For a brief period in 2002 and 2003 the ride was equipped with metal bars on the sides of the train to prevent this. During 2003 the trains were fitted with new style restraints to prevent riders from doing this and the metal plates were removed.[citation needed]
The roller coaster is located in the Lost City area, in the south-east of the park. The ride is formed of a vertical loop, a cobra roll, two corkscrews and five heartline rolls. The ride's rough theme is the ruins of a recently unearthedAtlantean civilization. The music for the ride and surrounding area was composed byIan Habgood. During planning and construction, Colossus was known asProject Odyssey.
During the 2023-24 off-season, Colossus was partially repainted as part of the Sparkle Project.[4]
| No. | Inversion |
|---|---|
| 1 | Vertical loop |
| 2 and 3 | Cobra roll |
| 4 and 5 | Corkscrew |
| 6 to 9 | Clockwise heartline roll |
| 10 | Anticlockwise heartline roll |
The train is dispatched from the station and immediately begins to ascend the chain lift hill, bringing riders to a maximum height of 30 m (98 ft). After disengaging from the chain, the train follows a 180 degree turn to the left into a drop - and passes through a vertical loop. The train then briefly traverses an elongated airtime hill that drops beneath the ride exit and gift shop creating a "head-chopper effect", before pulling sharply upwards into a cobra roll situated in a partially flooded pit (so as to allow other guests to observe the element and generate a more engaging visual spectacle to surround the attraction).
Upon exiting the cobra roll, the second phase of the circuit begins: snaking slightly to the left, the train is quickly pulled through two corkscrew elements; the first inverting riders over the airtime hill and the second encompassing a pathway leading to the ride entrance. Riders' photographs are taken as the train levels after the second corkscrew. Here, the speed of the train decreases rapidly. Riders then experience four consecutive clockwise heartline rolls that pass only 3 m (10 ft) above the area's pathway. A final bend round to the left is completed as the train slowly approaches the station, before an unexpected final inversion (a counter-clockwise heartline roll). The train then slows into the final brake run, stopping for a moment before the exit.
| Preceded by | Most Inversions on a Roller Coaster March 22, 2002 – May 31, 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Amity | |
|---|---|
| Lost City | |
| Old Town | |
| Fearless Valley | |
| Swarm Island | |
| The Jungle | |
| Big Easy Boulevard | |
| The Dock Yard | |
| Former | |
| See also | |
