Colossus

About

Colossus is a steel roller coaster at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, and the park's first major attraction. It was built by Liechtenstein-based manufacturers Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel as an adaptation of Monte Makaya in Brazil. Colossus is well known for being the world's first roller coaster with ten inversions; an exact replica, called the 10 Inversion Roller Coaster, was later built at Chimelong Paradise in Guangzhou, China.

It retained its title of having the most inversions on any other roller coaster in the world until The Smiler at Alton Towers took the record in 2013. The ride’s trains, manufactured by Intamin, are similar in style to those used on their Mega Coaster models, with the sides of the train removed to create an open design. This configuration presented safety concerns, as riders could extend their legs outside the train while it was in motion.

For a brief period in 2002 and 2003, the trains were fitted with metal bars along the sides to prevent riders from extending their legs outside the train. Later in 2003, the trains were upgraded with new-style restraints that addressed this safety concern, allowing the metal side plates to be removed. The roller...