Just outside Rome, at the movie-themed Cinecittà World, sits Italy’s answer to the inversion arms race. Altair has been turning riders upside down ten times per circuit since the park’s opening day on 24 July 2014, a total that only one roller coaster on Earth exceeds.
That puts Altair in rare company on our ranking of the roller coasters with the most inversions in the world – tied for second place with a small international family of sibling rides, and behind only The Smiler’s fourteen.
Key Stats
| Height | 108.3 ft (33 m) |
| Speed | 52.8 mph (85 km/h) |
| Length | 2,870.8 ft (875 m) |
| Inversions | 10 |
| Lift | Cable lift hill |
| Capacity | 1,250 riders per hour |
| Trains | 2 trains, 24 riders each |
| Manufacturer | Intamin (Multi Inversion Coaster) |
| Opened | 24 July 2014 |
Ten Inversions at the Movies
Cinecittà World is the theme park of Italy’s fabled Cinecittà film studios, and it opened in July 2014 with Altair as its flagship coaster. The ride’s sleek, space-flavoured styling fits the park’s cinematic branding – in its early years it even carried the film-style designation ‘Altair CCW-0204’ before the park settled on the shorter name.
Underneath the theming is an Intamin Multi Inversion Coaster, the revised version of the layout that debuted as Colossus at Thorpe Park in 2002 and became the first coaster ever to hit ten inversions. The Rev. B model that Cinecittà World bought is the upgraded edition: 108 feet tall with a cable lift and an 85 km/h top speed.
The Ride Experience
Altair’s sequence is a masterclass in inversion pacing. The cable lift hauls the train to 108 feet, and the first drop feeds straight into a vertical loop. A cobra roll follows – two inversions in one snaking element – and a double corkscrew rounds out the front half with five flips already banked.
Then comes the signature stretch: a quad heartline roll, four consecutive slow barrel rolls along a straight spine of track that seem to go on forever, with a final heartline roll to close the lap at exactly ten inversions. With both 24-seat trains running, Altair can cycle 1,250 riders an hour.
Altair’s Global Family
The same revised layout operates on three other continents’ worth of parks: Sik at Flamingo Land in England, Crazy Coaster at Loca Joy Holiday Theme Park in China, and Velikolukskiy Myasokombinat-2 at Wonder Island in Russia. Along with the original Colossus, they form the entire ten-inversion club – a reminder that when a layout works this well, the industry keeps ordering it.
FAQ
How many inversions does Altair have?
Ten: a vertical loop, a cobra roll, a double corkscrew, a quad heartline roll and a final heartline roll. Only The Smiler at Alton Towers (14) has more.
When did Altair open?
Altair opened with Cinecittà World itself on 24 July 2014, and it has been the park’s signature coaster ever since.
How tall and how fast is Altair?
Altair stands 108.3 ft (33 m) tall and reaches 52.8 mph (85 km/h) across 2,870.8 ft (875 m) of track.
Photo: Daniele0601 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)