Universal Studios Hollywood’s latest high-octane attraction will pay prominent tribute to the late “Fast & Furious” star Paul Walker.
The new roller coaster, “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift,” includes two ride vehicles modeled after sports cars driven by Brian O’Conner, Walker’s beloved character in the blockbuster franchise.
Guests will be able to board versions of two of Walker’s most recognizable movie cars: a blue 2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R and the orange 1994 Toyota Supra, long regarded as one of the franchise’s most iconic vehicles.
The attraction’s other two ride vehicles are tied to Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel, and Han Seoul-Oh, portrayed by Sung Kang.
Walker died in a 2013 car crash, prompting an outpouring of grief across the “Fast & Furious” fan community. His image was later recreated with CGI for “Furious 7,” the film he was working on at the time of his death. Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa’s hit song “See You Again” accompanied the memorable farewell sequence featuring the digitally completed Walker alongside Diesel.
Visitors to the San Fernando Valley theme park can expect an adrenaline-heavy ride when the coaster opens this summer, a Universal executive told The LA Times.
“It’s a high level of intensity, absolutely, for sure,” park executive Jon Corfino said.
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Corfino noted that despite its intensity, the coaster is designed to deliver a smooth ride. The attraction is expected to reach speeds of up to 72 mph and feature multiple inversions along 4,100 feet of track built over the cliffside between the park’s upper and lower lots.
“I’ve ridden coasters that I would say are high intensity, but they’re very aggressive,” he said. “They’re very rough. But if you look at what we tried to achieve here, it’s that you’re in a [car] vehicle. It’s very smooth. It’s not something that would be not natural for a car, if that makes sense.”
Corfino said the company labored to make the cars as realistic as possible, even including fake odometers.
“The truth is I was really laboring,” Corfino said. “They all have realistic sound effects, and when you hit the bottom, the big launch, I wanted to hear the NOS kick in. But you’re going so fast, at 72 mph, and with the wind, you’re not hearing anything. Quite frankly, your vision is even kind of shaky because you’re going so fast.”
It’s unclear when the ride’s opening day will be this summer. An entry on their website said the ride was opening June 26, but it has since been corrected.
“‘Fast and Furious: Hollywood Drift’ will open this summer and we look forward to sharing its official opening date soon. An opening date was incorrectly posted on the Universal Studios Hollywood website and we apologize for the confusion. Stay tuned for more to come!”
Recent videos showed people testing out the ride, but it remained closed to the public as of Saturday.
