The manufacturer of Thorpe Park’s 236-foot rollercoaster has been confirmed as Germany’s Mack Rides.
The company’s involvement was widely suspected following a comparison being made to a similar ride in Turkey during the planning stages.
The Hyper Coaster model will overtake Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s Big One rollercoaster to become the UK’s tallest at 236 feet (72 metres) above ground level.
Also, if the ride’s theoretical 81 mph speed limit is confirmed, it would overtake Thorpe Park’s own Stealth to become the UK’s fastest rollercoaster.
Currently dubbed Project Exodus, early groundworks are underway at the Surrey theme park.
The ride is expected to open in Spring 2024, although earlier delays with the planning process mean that the start of Thorpe Park’s main season next March is now considered unlikely.
Club 236
The ride’s trains will feature ten two-seater rows, with Mack’s modern semi-lap bar style restraint design similar to those on the Icon ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
This week, Thorpe Park launched ‘Club 236’, which offers holders of Thorpe Park’s and operator Merlin Entertainments’ annual passes a chance to be the first to ride next year.
Under a ballot-style competition, each visit a pass-holder makes to the park in 2023 earns one entry into the ballot.
The competition’s terms & conditions state that “bonus days” may be introduced on certain dates this season, which would allow more than one entry to be received when visiting on certain dates.
There are four tiers of prizes, ranging from a front-row ride on the first public train, to being among the first in the queue on opening day.