Ride vehicle revealed
Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California, will introduce an impressive new twist on the park’s popular, state-of-the-art coaster for 2008. Built originally by Arrow, now S&S Power, X will become X2 and benefit from a $10 million investment featurng redesigned, sleeker trains featuring an on-board audio system.
The new X2 ride vehicle was on display at the S&S booth at the recent IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando. It is both stronger and of significantly lighter than the existing cars on X and features air-released instead of mechanical restraints. Each vehicle will weigh 1,700 pounds less that the existing trains on X, which weighed 9,400 pounds each. Because there are seven four-passenger vehicles per train, that’s a saving in weight of 11,900 pounds, nearly six tonnes per train.
Other notable improvements include caster design wheel assemblies, where each bogie pivots independently. Before the X train had a single bearing and axle design. Where the earlier design had a dual pipe restraint support system, X2 will have an ice-cream-scoop-looking restraint support structure. To help reduce the weight each X2 vehicle is also stripped down, abandoning all the fibreglass cosmetic covers present on the previous version.
“Since it opened in 2002, X, with its 360-degree rotating seats and head-first, face down drops, has been one of the most popular thrill rides on the planet,” boasts Jay Thomas, Six Flags Magic Mountain park president. “
Unlike traditional coasters where trains only parallel the track, X sends riders screaming around its 3,600ft maze of steel track aboard massive wing-shaped trains where the seats extend off the track to the sides of the vehicle allowing them to independently rotate guests head over heels, forward and backward. X2 launches spring 2008.
