Nemesis Inferno is a steel inverted roller coaster at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard and designed by veteran coaster engineer Werner Stengel. It opened on 5 April 2003 as a spiritual sequel to the original Nemesis at Alton Towers, though the two rides share only a name and inverted format rather than an actual track layout.
Set in the park’s Jungle area, Nemesis Inferno winds its 750-metre track around and through a themed erupting volcano, sending riders through a vertical loop, a zero-G roll, and interlocking corkscrews. The £8 million installation followed Colossus by a year, part of Thorpe Park’s early-2000s push to rebrand itself as a serious thrill-ride destination.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Thorpe Park, Surrey, England
- Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Opened: April 5, 2003
- Height: About 95 ft (29 m)
- Top speed: 50 mph (80 km/h)
- Length: 750 m (2,460 ft)
- Inversions: 4
The Ride Experience
Riders board one of two seven-car trains, seated four across, before climbing the lift hill into the heart of the volcano set piece. The first drop leads into a vertical loop, followed by a zero-G roll and a pair of interlocking corkscrews, all delivering up to about 4.5 Gs across a run lasting roughly a minute and 43 seconds.
Because the layout threads through faux rockwork and steam effects meant to simulate an eruption, much of the ride’s identity comes from its theming rather than sheer stats — it’s a mid-sized inverted coaster elevated by atmosphere and placement within the park’s Jungle zone.
Legacy and Comparisons
Nemesis Inferno is frequently discussed alongside Alton Towers’ original Nemesis, a Merlin Entertainments sibling coaster that shares no track design but invites comparison due to its name and inverted format; many enthusiasts consider the Alton Towers ride the more intense of the two. Nemesis Inferno also picked up pop-culture recognition after appearing in a 2008 episode of the British sitcom The Inbetweeners, and in 2004 it briefly held a Guinness World Record for the most people riding a roller coaster naked.
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Nemesis Inferno FAQs
Who manufactured Nemesis Inferno?
Nemesis Inferno was built by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the Swiss firm known for its inverted coaster designs, with the layout engineered by Werner Stengel.
Is Nemesis Inferno the same ride as Nemesis at Alton Towers?
No. Despite the shared name and inverted-coaster format, Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park and Nemesis at Alton Towers are distinct rides with different track layouts, both part of Merlin Entertainments’ UK theme park portfolio.
How many inversions does Nemesis Inferno have?
It has four inversions: a vertical loop, a zero-G roll, and a pair of interlocking corkscrews.
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Photo: Stefan Scheer / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.