Volume 1, No. 14. August 10, 2001
PHOTO of Mercedes Benz race team and Europa-Park officials with race car at cornerstone ceremony.
The coaster race team
Meanwhile in Rust, Germany, Europa-Park has jumped into the one-upmanship coaster
fray that seems to have gripped Europe, but is doing so in a three-way partnership
that represents a significant departure for the Mack-showcase theme park. It
also reveals a company displaying a common-sense restraint that may be more
indicative of the industry's future than the fact that theirs will be Europe's
tallest coaster.
Just a month after Holiday Park in Hassloch, Germany, topped the 60-meter (200-foot) mark with Expedition GeForce, Europa-Park laid the cornerstone for Silver Star, scheduled to open in July 2002 with a height of 73 meters (241 feet). The ceremony featured officials from Bolliger & Mabillard, who is building the coaster (a Nitro class hypercoaster), and Mercedes Benz, who is theming the coaster station.
Martina Evers, Europa-Park's press officer, insists the park wasn't prompted
to build a hypercoaster by the competition—at least not primarily. "More
or less it was our visitors who convinced us to build a coaster like this one
because there's a strong demand, especially from our younger visitors, to go
on these high rides and at these speeds," she said of Silver Star, which
is designed to reach speeds of 130 km/h (80 mph). "Though we are a family park
and will stay a family park, younger visitors, 14 to 19, demand these kind of
rides. We decided not to wait so long that they might go somewhere else."
Despite that demand, Mack GmbH & Co. itself decided against entering the realm
of hypercoaster manufacturing, even though it has made smaller coasters and
its Europa-Park already has seven variations. With an eye toward selling rides
to the American and Japanese markets, Mack felt the demand for such super structures
was too limited to merit the production costs for even a prototype. "It makes
no sense to take the risk and invest this money," Evers said. Besides, other
companies are ably filling that demand, so Mack decided to team up with one
of those firms, B&M. The Swiss manufacturer is providing the fabrication, trains
and assembly, including a magnetic brake system, while Mack is designing the
layout.
Then, because Europa-Park GM Roland Mack never puts in a new product without
taking the opportunity to install some authentic cultural icon, he followed
up on earlier interest from Mercedes Benz to work with the park. "Their clients
and our clients are both quite mobile, young, active, and over the average income,"
Evers said. "For us, the name Mercedes Benz stands for technical perfection
and high speed." The car company's silver race car being a dominant force on
the Formula 1 circuit, the roller coaster's theming naturally evolved from that,
and Mercedes will build an exhibition hall leading to Silver Star themed
on the carmaker's racing history that may include real race cars.
Located next to the Euro-Sat indoor coaster near the park's entrance,
Silver Star will carry out its automotive theming for the whole ride
in a most clever and cost-effective way—by running the track over the car
park. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to fit it in," Evers said. "When you park
your car, you will see and hear the riders above you. The excitement grows
right from the start."