Thorpe Park has installed the final piece of track on its new Hyperia ride, also known as the UK’s fastest and tallest roller coaster.
To lift the 92nd and final piece of Hyperia’s track into place, the team at Thorpe Park used a 500-tonne crane. To date, the Hyperia assembly process has taken more than 5,292 man hours, the park said in a blog post.
Hyperia reaches a top height of 236 feet and a maximum speed of more than 80 mph. It will take the title of the UK’s tallest coaster from The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, a 230-foot-tall attraction. Stealth at Thorpe Park is currently the UK’s fastest coaster.
Amid a growing trend for family coasters, Hyperia has a height requirement of just 1.3 metres. It also features lap bar restraints to enhance feelings of weightlessness.
UK’s fastest and tallest roller coaster
Thorpe Park submitted plans for Hyperia, then known as ‘Project Exodus’, in December 2021. The project was approved by Runnymede Borough Council in November 2022.
Last year, the park said the new coaster is “themed around our fearless goddess ‘Hyperia’ – her story is yet to be told”.
The title Hyperia “has a double meaning” as it is the name of “our fearless goddess, plus it is indeed a hypercoaster”, Thorpe Park added.
Hypercoasters are full-circuit roller coasters built for height, speed and airtime with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet.
Elsewhere, Alton Towers’ “tentacle technician” is putting the finishing touches to Nemesis Reborn after an extensive transformation project. The iconic coaster is opening later this month.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of our team of engineers, model-makers and technicians who have truly surpassed themselves on this project,” said Bianca Sammut, divisional director at Alton Towers.
Thorpe Park and Alton Towers are operated by Merlin Entertainments.
Images courtesy of Merlin Entertainments
