© Carowinds
The Need for Speed:Intimidator shall be the next NASCAR themed coaster for Carowinds. |
Cedar Fair is at it again, introducing the American motorsport of NASCAR in the form of a coaster at yet another park, this just days after Kings Dominion announced Intimidator 305. The park on the map for this latest installation is Carowinds, under the same name, though without the 305.
Carowinds version of Intimidator will be built by Bolliger and Mabillard instead of Intamin, using a hyper coaster to get the point across. The L-shaped layout shall start by lifting riders 232 ft. above terra firma before plummeting 211 ft. at 74 degrees to a top speed of 75 mph. Seven air time hills are present to represent the seven NASCAR championships that the real Intimidator, Dale Earnhardt Sr. racked up in his impressive career before his death at the 2001 Daytona 500 in 2001.
Also included among the features of the 5316 ft course will be a s-curved 2nd drop, a hammerhead-like maneuver dubbed the panoramic u-turn, and a twisted, hilly helix finale. As with Cedar Fair's previous B&M hypers, Diamondback at Kings Island and Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland, the trains will be the 4 across staggered seating, meaning the two outside seats shall be set just behind the 2 center seats. A stockcar-like impression shall adorn the front as well as the Intimidator's infamous 3.
As the thirteenth coaster at Carowinds, Intimidator shall be the largest. In fact, the first four drops will be larger than any other coaster at Carowinds. Intimidator is also Carowinds 3rd coaster built by B&M, the other two being Afterburn and Vortex. The grand opening is set for spring of 2010.
