In the famous 80’s movie Top Gun starring Tom Cruise, Maverick and Goose popularized a famous movie quote when they said they felt “the need for speed.” Perhaps no industry feels the need for speed more than the roller coaster industry. All those twists and turns and drops are fun, but with no speed then what is the point? These are the 10 roller coasters that hit a higher speed than all the others.
10th Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Furius Baco
PortAventura (Salou, Tarragona, Spain)
Speed: 83.9 miles per hour
The PortAventura is not only the fastest roller coaster in Spain but it is also the fastest roller coaster in all of Europe.
8th Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Titan
Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas, USA)
Speed: 85 miles per hour
The Titan is tied for the 8th faster roller coaster in the world because the Titan and the Goliath in Valencia, California are sister roller coasters that are almost identical.
8th Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Goliath
Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, California, USA)
Speed: 85 miles per hour
The Titan and Goliath are almost identical except that the Titan has an extra helix an is slightly taller in at one point.
7th Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Millennium Force
Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio, USA)
Speed: 93 miles per hour
Even though it is only the seventh fastest roller coaster in the world the Millennium Force has been name the #1 steel roller coaster in the world five times since it opened in 2000 and was ranked #2 in all the other years it wasn’t ranked #1.
6th Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Steel Dragon 2000
Nagashima Spa Land (Kuwana, Mie, Japan)
Speed: 95 miles per hour
The Steel Dragon needed a lot more steel to complete than other roller coasters because there are earthquakes in that part of the world. The extra steel increased the cost of building the Steel Dragon 2000 to $50 million.
4th Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Tower of Terror
Dreamworld (Coomera, Queenslan, Australia)
Speed: 100 miles per hour
The Tower or Terror is the fastest roller coaster in all of Australia. When it was built in January of 199 the Tower of Terror was the fastest roller coaster in the world.
4th Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Superman: The Escape
Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, California, USA)
Speed: 100 miles per hour
In January of 1997 the Tower of Terror broke the record for the fastest roller coaster in the world. In March the Superman: The Escape was built and it matched the Tower of Terror’s 100 miles per hour speed.
3rd Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Dodonpa
Fuji-Q Highland (Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan)
Speed: 106.9 miles per hour
The name of the roller coaster, Dodonpa, comes from the musical sound that is listened to while waiting to get on the ride. In December of 2001 the Dodonpa took over the world record for the fatest roller coaster in the world.
2nd Fastest Roller Coaster in then World: Top Thrill Dragster
Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio, USA)
Speed: 120 miles per hour
When the Top Thrill Dragster opened in May of 2003 the fastest roller coaster in the world was one of just five records that it set. It was also the first continuous-circut roller coaster to top 400 feet, the first to reach 120 miles per hour, highest drop and the tallest in the world.
Fastest Roller Coaster in the World: Kingda Ka
Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson Township, New Jersey, USA)
Speed: 128 miles per hour
In May 2005 the Kingda Ka became the fastest roller coaster in the world. Only a month later there was a malfunction that caused it to be shut down for several months. Despite the fast speed the Kingda Ka has never ranked higher than 28 in the best roller coaster rankings.
