Colossus (Thorpe Park)

Colossus
View of Colossus
Thorpe Park
Location	Thorpe Park
Park section	Lost City
Coordinates	51.403243°N 0.512959°W / 51.403243; -0.512959
Status	Operating
Opening date	March 22, 2002
Cost	£13,500,000
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Intamin
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Multi looping Coaster
Track layout	Intamin Tri Track
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	98 ft (30 m)
Drop	95 ft (29 m)
Length	2,789 ft (850 m)
Speed	45 mph (72 km/h)
Inversions	10
Duration	1:45
Capacity	1,200 riders per hour
G-force	4.2
Colossus at RCDB

Colossus is a roller coaster at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, UK. It was built by Swiss manufacturers Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel as an adaptation of Monte Makaya in Brazil. Tussauds designer John Wardley adapted the project to include an extra two inversions as well as reducing its height. Colossus was the world's first roller coaster with ten inversions; an exact replica, called the Tenth Ring Roller Coaster, was later built at Chimelong Paradise in Guangzhou, China.

Manufacturers Intamin used a similar train style to their Hyper 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. 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.

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 twists. The ride's rough theme is the ruins of a recently unearthed Atlantean civilisation. The music for the ride and surrounding area was composed by Ian Habgood and is shared with the roller coaster Colossos in Heide Park, Germany. During planning and construction Colossus was known as Project Odyssey; both names allude to Ancient Greece, albeit in different ways.

In 2009, the ride's lift hill chain was replaced and station area was cleaned of rust.

In 2010 Colossus's signs and station were repainted.

External links

• Official site for Thorpe Park
• Colossus on Theme Park Junkies
• Colossus on Thorpe Park Insider
• Colossus at Total Thorpe Park
• Colossus on Thorpe Park Mania
• Colossus at ThemeParks-UK