Croatia has arrived at Europa-Park, and with it what has already been named one of the world’s best new roller coasters. But that is not the only new attraction this season.
Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac is a supercharged thrill machine that breaks two world records. The attraction features the steepest launch (105 degrees) and most overhead elements (seven) of any launch coaster in the world. With 1,385 metres of track, it’s also the longest launch coaster in Europe. The ‘Stryker’ wing coaster from Mack Rides will officially open to the public this Friday, 26 April.
“We’re not trying to break as many records as possible. We just want to create a great ride,” said Patrick Marx, Europa-Park’s head of new development and masterplanning at a press preview on 24 April.
Featuring four launch sequences, one of them backwards, a top speed of 90 km/h, plus 2.2 seconds of continued weightlessness, Voltron will not be for everyone. However, the new themed area that it anchors can be enjoyed by all and offers a holiday atmosphere. Even if, as Europa-Park founder Roland Mack conceded at the preview, “We’ve not had the Croatian weather.”
The theme for this new area of Germany’s leading amusement park, says managing partner and CEO Michael Mack, came after he returned from a family holiday to Croatia five or six years ago. It was his wife Miriam, who originates from the country, who first brought the electric vehicle manufacturer Rimac to his attention.
The resulting partnership on Voltron paved the way for a steampunk theme, which celebrates the electrical experiments of Nikola Tesla, who was born in what is now Croatia. Named after a word for a sudden and mighty Mediterranean storm, Nevera is Rimac’s bestselling car. Representatives of Bugatti, which has a cooperation with the Croatian company, were at Europa-Park to celebrate the ride’s launch, where an actor playing Tesla entertained the crowds.
The station building is designed in the style of an old hydroelectric power plant used by Tesla for his research. The ride’s two towers play a key part in the storytelling as riders are transformed into cosmic energy and move from tower to tower in the form of lightning. Accommodating up to 1,600 passengers per hour, the seven 16-seater trains are loaded from a moving walkway, with a train dispatched every 36 seconds. The ride lasts three minutes.
Europe’s longest multi-launch coaster
While further attractions will follow in Croatia in due course, Voltron is more than simply a standalone coaster thanks to a “360-degree” approach to storytelling. Created my Mack Magic, the story is brought to life in a novel called Die Fliegende Schule der Abenteurer published by Coppenrath. Using the Europa-Park app, fans can experience the new coaster from home via an augmented reality (AR) experience. Furthermore, a coffee table book featuring Miriam Mack’s recipes and stories from the Adriatic coast will be published in June.
Meanwhile, Europa-Park guests can visit a ‘Croatian Inspiration’ exhibition in the same building facing Voltron that also houses the ‘Sunce i Lavanda’ ice cream parlour. Gifts are available from the ‘Suveniri Nikola’ shop. Elsewhere in the park, there is a special ice show and 4D show celebrating Tesla’s achievements.
The new Croatian-themed area adds an additional 20,000 square feet of space for Europa-Park guests to explore. Light limestone, ruins and a variety of plants including an 800-year-old olive tree are featured along with a replica of the clock tower on the island Hvar.
But that’s not all, since the Austria area of the park will soon reopen following a multimillion-euro investment. This includes a brand new version of the Alpenexpress launch coaster and Tirola Wildwasserbahn ride, both by Mack Rides. In addition, a 200-metre-long adventure trail has been integrated in and around the two intertwined attractions.
Back in Croatia, the pastor Ernst Heller was invited to bless Voltron before the VIP guests took a ride. Looking up at the coaster with a maximum height of 32.5 metres, he commented that its passengers would be “closer to god”.
Images courtesy of Europa-Park, Rimac and Owen Ralph
