News: Six Flags St Louis turns Evel in 2008

Posted at 8:08 AM EDT (1208 GMT)

Sep. 27th, 2007 -- Via Press Release:

Continuing its tradition of providing park guests with new and exciting thrills each season, Six Flags St. Louis announced today plans for its latest addition: Evel Knievel. This $7 million wooden wonder is unlike any of the park's existing eight coasters. Evel Knievel, the park's third wooden coaster, is a compact twister by Great Coasters International, Inc. which will present an impressive visual from I-44 and a formidable challenge in person.

"The unpredictability and high energy of this coaster makes it the perfect way to pay tribute to the king of adrenaline, Evel Knievel," said David Roemer, President of Six Flags St. Louis.
  
A daredevil's dream, the 2,700-ft. ride experience begins with an 80-ft. first drop at a 90 degree left turn angle, which is answered with a 55-ft. double down drop. Sixteen hills follow with camelbacks, a 40-ft. fan curve and multiple high-banked turns at up to 67 degree angles. Standing 82-ft. tall and traveling 50 mph, this intense coaster crosses over itself an incredible 14 times while making frequent and tight directional changes. Evel Knievel will boast two 24-passenger trains of GCI's own Millennium Flyer cars specially designed to maneuver the ride's sharp turns and high banks on a dime while providing an exceptionally smooth ride.

Evel Knievel, born in Butte, Montana in 1938, began his daredevil
career in 1965 and over the next 12 years earned the name of America's Legendary Daredevil for his heroic and death-defying feats. Through his eventful career, Evel had garnered international media attention for both his successful jumps and his amazing crashes. Some of his career highlights and best known feats include setting a world record for jumping 19 cars in Ontario, CA in 1971; flying over 50 cars stacked in the center of the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1973; jumping 14 Greyhound buses in Ohio in October of
1974 and soaring over Snake River Canyon in Idaho in his rocket powered "skycyle" that same year. They rival some of his more spectacular spills, including his jump over the fountains at Caesar's Palace in 1968 and his leap over 13 double tiered buses in Wembley Stadium in 1975.
   
By the time he retired in the winter of 1976, Evel held the Guinness
Book of World Records for the most broken bones and had also captured ABC's Wide World of Sports largest TV viewing audience with his Ohio jump in 1974. Evel has also been immortalized in the Smithsonian Institute with his motorcycle and memorabilia display.
   
Evel Knievel is scheduled to open mid-summer 2008 and will be located in the front of the park near the Log Flume and the Moon Antique Cars. Six Flags St. Louis has brought its guests new and exciting experiences for the past four consecutive years with the addition of Tony Hawk's Big Spin, a new family coaster, in 2007; the introduction of Bugs Bunny National Park, our new kids area, and SUPERMAN Tower Of Power, a free-fall ride, in 2006. And, in 2005, Tornado swept into Hurricane Harbor, Six Flags St. Louis' water park which is offered free with theme park admission.
  
Six Flags, Inc. is the world's largest regional theme park company.
Founded in 1961, Six Flags celebrated its 45th Anniversary in 2006. Six Flags, Inc. is a publicly traded corporation (NYSE: SIX) headquartered in New York City.

For more information and a photo of the coaster visit PR Newswire.