This list ranks launched roller coasters by top speed in miles per hour. A launched coaster uses a mechanism — magnetic (LSM/LIM) motors, hydraulics, or compressed air — to accelerate the train rather than relying solely on a lift hill and gravity, so these numbers reflect raw acceleration rather than drop height.
The gap at the top is enormous. Falcons Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya City tops the list at 155.3 mph, a full 35 mph faster than the next entry, Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point (120 mph). After that, speeds drop off quickly — by the middle of the list, most coasters cluster in the 65-75 mph range, which is still faster than highway speed but a different experience entirely from the top two.
Falcons Flight’s Record-Breaking Speed
Falcons Flight’s 155.3 mph launch isn’t just a record among launched coasters — it’s a gap that separates it from everything else on this list by a wide margin. Riders are accelerated to that speed before climbing to heights that put the coaster among the tallest in the world, which is why it draws comparisons to a rocket launch rather than a typical theme park ride.
Top Thrill 2, in second place at 120 mph, is itself a reworking of a coaster that once held speed records. It kept its original top hat tower and added a separate 420-foot spike, giving riders two distinct high-speed launches in opposite directions on the same circuit. Red Force, in third at 111.8 mph, uses an LSM (linear synchronous motor) launch to send its train up a tower that was Europe’s tallest coaster structure when it opened.
| # | Coaster | Park | mph |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falcons Flight | Six Flags Qiddiya City | 155.3 |
| 2 | Top Thrill 2 | Cedar Point | 120 |
| 3 | Red Force | Ferrari Land | 111.8 |
| 4 | Furius Baco | PortAventura Park | 83.9 |
| 5 | Xcelerator | Knott’s Berry Farm | 82 |
| 6 | Stealth | Thorpe Park | 80 |
| 7 | Spitfire | Six Flags Qiddiya City | 78.9 |
| 8 | Maxx Force | Six Flags Great America | 78 |
| 9 | Soaring with Dragon | Hefei Sunac Land | 77.7 |
| 10 | ISpeed | Mirabilandia | 74.6 |
| 11 | Pantheon | Busch Gardens Williamsburg | 73 |
| 12 | Taron | Phantasialand | 72.7 |
| 13 | Storm Runner | Hersheypark | 72 |
| 14 | Full Throttle | Six Flags Magic Mountain | 70 |
| 15 | Maverick | Cedar Point | 70 |
| 16 | Mr. Freeze | Six Flags Over Texas | 70 |
| 17 | Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast | Mid America Adventure | 70 |
| 18 | Possessed | Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom | 70 |
| 19 | The Flash: Vertical Velocity | Six Flags Great America | 70 |
| 20 | VelociCoaster | Universal’s Islands of Adventure | 70 |
| 21 | Steel Venom | Valleyfair | 68 |
| 22 | The Incredible Hulk Coaster | Universal’s Islands of Adventure | 67 |
| 23 | Fury | Bobbejaanland | 66.2 |
| 24 | Taiga | Linnanmäki | 65.9 |
| 25 | Steel Taipan | Dreamworld | 65.2 |
What the Speed Numbers Actually Mean to Ride
On a launched coaster, the mph figure is almost entirely about the first few seconds. Unlike a drop-based coaster where speed builds gradually, a launch gets riders to high speed in seconds, often on flat track, which is what produces that slammed-into-the-seat sensation riders describe. Some rides save their biggest launch for later: Falcons Flight reaches its top speed on its third and final launch. At the top of this list, that acceleration is extreme enough to rival drag racing or aircraft takeoff.
Further down the list, coasters in the 70-83 mph range — Furius Baco, Xcelerator, Stealth, Maxx Force — still deliver a strong punch of acceleration, but the sensation is closer to a fast car merging onto a highway than a rocket launch. Many of these mid-list entries use the launch purely to clear a tall element like a top hat or a loop, rather than to set a speed record on their own.
Surprises Further Down the List
A few entries surprise people who assume speed records belong only to brand-new mega-coasters. Xcelerator, at Knott’s Berry Farm, and Storm Runner, at Hersheypark, are older launched coasters that still outrun many newer rides at parks with bigger budgets. And the tie at exactly 70 mph among seven different coasters — Full Throttle, Maverick, Mr. Freeze, Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast, Possessed, The Flash: Vertical Velocity, and VelociCoaster — shows how 70 mph became something of an industry benchmark for a strong launch, appearing again and again across different parks and manufacturers.
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Fastest Launched Roller Coasters FAQs
What is the fastest roller coaster in the world?
Falcons Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya City is the fastest launched roller coaster in the world, reaching 155.3 mph.
How much faster is the top coaster than the rest of the list?
Falcons Flight’s 155.3 mph is about 35 mph faster than the second-place coaster, Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point, which reaches 120 mph.
Why do so many coasters on this list reach exactly 70 mph?
70 mph has become a common target launch speed for mid-size launched coasters, which is why seven different coasters on this list — from different parks and eras — all land at that exact figure.
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Photo: Spleaz / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.