© Kings Dominion Intimidator 305:New giga coaster to race around Kings Dominion.

Standing at 305ft tall and boasting a 300ft drop, Intimidator 305 will become just the second giga coaster in the western hemisphere. A giga coaster is a complete circuit coaster with a height between 300ft and 400ft. The other giga coaster, Millennium Force, resides at Cedar Point. Intimidator 305's 300ft tall drop comes in at a staggering 85degrees, just five degrees shy of being completely vertical. Also, that drop will get the stock car themed trains moving at speeds in excess of 90mph.

This ride is more than just a big drop, however. Intimidator 305 features six airtime humps, including S-curve transitions. The largest airtime hill comes soon after the first drop; the two hills are separated by a high speed ground turn similar to the opening manuever of Intamin's popular Mega-Lite models. In addition to the six airtime humps, Intimidator 305 has three ground level high speed turns. These turns are designed to simulate the experience of driving a stock car through high speed turns on a race track.

© Kings Dominion .

Intimidator 305 will also sport trains themed to stock car racing. The trains will be designed to look like the stock car of racing legend Dale Earnhardt, who tragically lost his life in an accident at the Daytona 500 in 2001. Intimidator 305 draws its name from the nickname of Dale Earnhardt. He was knows as "The Intimidator" due to his aggressive driving style, which this ride attempts to imitate.

Coming in at $25 million, Intimidator 305 will be the single largest capital investment in the history of Kings Dominion. Intimidator 305 is scheduled to open in 2010, but until then you can take a virtual ride, view photo galleries, and learn more about this ride at www.intimidator305.com .