Apollo's Chariot

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Apollo's Chariot

Location Busch Gardens Europe
Type Steel
Status Open
Opened March 27, 1999
Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer Werner Stengel
Model Hypercoaster
Track layout Out and Back
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 170 feet (51.8 m)
Drop 210 feet (64 m)
Length 4,882 feet (1,488 m)
Max speed 75 mile per hour (120.7 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration 2:15
Max Vertical Angle 65 degrees
Capacity 1750 riders per hour
Cost $20,000,000 USD
Max G force 4.1
Apollo's Chariot at RCDB
Pictures of Apollo's Chariot at RCDB

Apollo's Chariot is the first Bolliger & Mabillard hypercoaster, located at Busch Gardens Europe. It was also the first rollercoaster to incorporate the clamshell harness design, that is a type of lap restraint rather than an over the shoulder harness. This allow the rider to experience more freedom and movement of the body. Opened in 1999, it soon became a favorite roller coaster of many enthusiasts and riders. The roller coaster uses an out and back design with a helix. Notably, the first drop is actually bigger than the ride itself, the drop being 210 feet, and the height of the roller coaster only 170 feet high.

Riders start by climbing a 170 foot lift hill. At the peak, riders drop down a few feet in a pre-drop. The pre-drop serves to reduce the stress and pull of the chain. After the pre-drop, riders drop 210 feet (21 stories) into a water-filled ravine at a 65 degree angle and reaching speeds of 73 mph. At the end of the ravine, riders go up a second airtime hill with a 131 foot drop. The riders then enter a short tunnel at the bottom of the second drop. Then after the third hill, rides go down a left curved 144 foot drop. Then, there is a large, upward helix which pulls 4.1 Gs. Coming out of the helix, there is a small drop, then another hill into a brake run. A sudden dive off of the brake run leads into a series of bunny hills. At the end of the ride, rides drop into a ditch where the on-ride photo is located. Then the train hits the brakes and the riders return into the station.

Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Ranking
8
7
5
5
5
4
5

On March 30, 1999, on Apollo's Chariot's Media Day, the model Fabio was struck in the face by a goose while riding, suffering a 1-inch cut on his nose.

Roller coasters at Busch Gardens Europe

Alpengeist - Apollo's Chariot - Big Bad Wolf - Griffon - Loch Ness Monster

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