Tampere's Inverted coaster...
Tampere's Inverted coaster...
| Theme Park | Särkänniemi |
|---|---|
| Type | Rollercoaster |
| Audience | Thrillseekers |
| Opened | 30 April 2001 |
| Manufacturer | Intamin |
| Model | Suspended Looping Coaster |
| Height | 82 ft |
| Length | 2297 ft |
| Inversions | 5 |
| Max Speed | 47 mph |
| Codename | Metro |
| Duration | 1¾ minutes |
Inverting in the cobra roll
Särkänniemi's Tornado is the largest rollercoaster at the amusement park, and one of only two Intamin Suspended Looping coasters ever built - the other is at Parque de Atracciones in Madrid.
The ride will be familiar to those who have ridden B&M's Inverted Coasters, although Tornado has a much chunkier track using a mix of trianglar and square box sections. The trains are different too, with two-across seating and beefier over the shoulder restraints that surround riders' heads, which is reminiscient of Vekoma's old design seen on many of their SLCs.
This, fortunately, is no Vekoma SLC though. Tornado is pretty smooth throughout, and provides an overall comfortable ride experience. The inversions - which include a vertical loop, cobra roll and two heartline rolls (one through a tunnel above the station acting as a flythrough over passengers awaiting their turn) - are all great. There's a couple of forceful helixes, and the wild first drop sends the train hurtling towards the ground at quite a speed.
The ride station looks very industrial, but has been cleverly built into a manmade cave blasted out of the rockface near the top of the amusment park. It could probably use a little more decoration as it is a bit too bare with smooth concrete walls, but it certainly sets the tone that this ride is nothing fancy but nevertheless means business.
As Särkänniemi's headline rollercoaster, Tornado performs admirably. It may not have the refinements of a B&M, but it feels edgier and raw in a good way - a bit like the badass brother from the wealthy family who's chosen to shirk the mansion and have an awesome time partying away his inheritance. It's a little graceless at times but smooth and definitely forceful, and demands multiple re-rides during a visit to Särkänniemi.
Ride sign
The rather non-descript entrance
The underground station
Queue pens
Red train in the station
Yellow train
Front waiting to leave
Top of the lift hill
First drop
Vertical loop
Yellow train on the first inversion
Cobra roll
Red train upside down
In front
The track treads itself back through the loop
Heading into the station for the flyover
Final turnaround
Picturesque cobra roll
Inverted train
Tornado from the Observation Tower
