Now this is some world-class trolling.
Europa-Park has announced the full name for its new coaster for 2024. The multi-launch thrill ride will anchor the park's new Croatia land, and park has strongly suggested a Nikola Tesla theme. The concept art for the coaster's station featured what looked like Tesla's iconic Wardenclyffe Tower, and when the park revealed that art it also announced the opening of its "Nikola Tesla's Beautiful Croatia" 360-degree movie.
So the coaster's gonna have "Tesla" in its name, right? Well, most people today know the name "Tesla" not for the Croatian scientist and inventor but for the American electric car company. And, sure enough, Europa Park has secured electric car company partnership for the new coaster.
But it's not Tesla.
Instead, Croatian electric car company Bugatti Rimac will present "Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac," the Mack Rides Stryker Coaster with seven inversions and four launches, including a 105-degree, beyond vertical launch.
"Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac by MACK Rides lets visitors immerse themselves in Nikola Tesla's breathtaking experiments with electricity, providing an incomparable adrenaline rush," the park said in its announcement.
Okay, the park name-checked Nikola Tesla again. But there should be no confusion here with the car company that now bears Tesla's name. After all, the Rimac Nevera is no Model 3. This electric hypercar can go from zero to 60 mph in 1.74 seconds, reaching a reported top speed of 256 mph. This year, it set the production EV record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hill Climb Shootout, less than four seconds off the time of the winning McLaren Solus GT. So it's an appropriate theme for what looks like another impressive, white-knuckle ride.
"The combination of Europa-Park and Bugatti Rimac fits together perfectly, as we are doing crazy things in the automotive industry and Europa-Park is doing crazy things in the attractions industry," CEO Mate Rimac said. "This is where visionaries and top engineers meet, both striving to be the best in their field. For me, it is an honor that Germany's largest theme park will not only be able to show our innovations, but also present the rich history and culture of Croatia."
The longest launch coaster in Europe at 4,544 feet, Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac will feature an inverted top hat, descending roll, an Immelmann, inverted stall, dive loop, falling roll, and corkscrew, along with four launches, including a 105-degree beyond vertical launch and a backward launch, as well as a dark ride section after the station. Top speed will be 56 mph and the max height will be 107 feet.
The ride's station will commemorate the Nikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower, which was intended to provide wireless, long-distance transmission of electricity. The coaster and its station are the first phase in Europa-Park's new Croatia land, inspired by the architecture and landscape of the island of Hvar, where Europa-Park announced its cooperation with Bugatti Rimac yesterday, with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic attending.
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I’m surprised that the car company would go for such mixed marketing messaging.
Silver Stars queue and exit area are giant Mercedes commercials, so its kind of strange they'd have another major coaster sponsored by Bugatti. Though if Bugatti wants to spend the $ i'm sure Europa was happy to take it. Another funny coincidence here is that Silver Star is in the France area of the park and is a big commercial for a German car company, and this is in the Croatia area of the park but is sponsored by a French company.
It's also weird Bugatti would spend money sponsoring a roller coaster considering nobody who rides this will ever be able to afford a Bugatti car (this car cost over $2 million to buy). Maybe they are taking a page from Ferrari's playbook and trying to start making more money from merch and licensing than from selling their cars.
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Ugh, they really had to mar this with a sponsored name? I realize everyone will just call it Voltron anyways, but still. It was so good and crisp without the mouthful of an official name to burden the theme