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The first X-Car

The most eye-catching element of the Maurer Söhne booth was the prototype of the new X-Car. The concept was presented in Genova the previous year, and now the first car that is ready for start of production could be tested.

One requirement for the design was to offer more than four seats per car, but to use only two places per row due to dynamic reasons. Calculations showed that forces differ by nearly 100 percent between the inner and outer seats when using four places per row. So single cars with three rows were chosen, because a train wouldn´t be suitable for innovative ride elements.

The distance between the rows as well as between the seats is pretty ample, leading to a maximum feeling of freedom for the passenger. Higher capacity can be achieved by connecting two cars to a unit, and one of them can even be facing backwards. This mini train seating 12 people is supposed to cope with 1800 passengers per hour. But the X-Car isn´t limited to the sitdown variant presented at the show, because spinning, floorless or drifting versions can be implemented on the very same platform. The characteristics of the X-Car allow very tight radii and make it the perfect choice for spectacular track layouts fitting in very tight space.

Coastersandmore is testing the X-Car

The heart of the car is the revolutionary X-Seat that was developed together with TÜV Munich, the Institute for Ergonomics at the Technical University of Munich and an engineering office for industrial design. Its special feature is the ergonomic restraint system, because only equipped with a lap bar forces of more than -1g are possible for longer periods. Even extensive upside-down sections in newly arranged track elements are conveniently rideable. This is mainly caused by the fact that the weight hangs from the lap bar instead of pressing on the shoulders. The design of the seat promises safe fixing properties for slender children of 120 centimeters height as well as for adults of up to two meters with larger upper body dimensions. Another advantage for the ride operator is that it is very maintenance-friendly: Seat and restraint are a self-contained module that can be easily and rapidly exchanged.

The combination of X-Car and X-Seat allows totally new track layouts and elements. One of those is the Humpty Bump lift: The car clambers the vertical lift to slowly leave it upside-down, comparable to the second half of a vertical loop. A very special experience could be the Inverted Camelback, giving several seconds of airtime heads-over.

Left: Tilted seat - Right: Typical ride with tilt seat

For the show the prototype of the X-Car was mounted to a piece of track that could slowly rotate around the roll axis. Test "rides" showed that the enigineers hadn´t promised too much: Even a headstand of more than 30 seconds was no problem from an ergonomical point of view. One can be anxious to see the first installation of the Xtended Roller Coaster - Around ten possible layouts are fully calculated so that the contract could be signed within one or two weeks. Right now no sale is ripe for decision, but the chances for such a ride in Europe for 2005 are pretty good.

The Xtended concept cannot only be found at roller coasters, but also at the Power Tower. And here, too, the main point is the seat: A hydraulic system can tilt it forwards by 30 degrees and bring it back during the ride. This adds additional dynamic and thrill to the tower. But even now there is an enhancement: The Xtended Power Tower Earthquake. Two of the four support points are assembled to hydraulic cylinders that can make the whole construction shake like it is hit by an earthquake. But the era of freefall towers seems to be over, and the fully equipped version at a cost of 3.5 million Euros is twice as much as the basic model. So unfortunately an installation within foreseeable future is questionable.

Right now the spinning coasters are rather successful, offering diversified rides with their rotating gondolas. The two installations at the Tussaud´s parks Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures take place at the moment, and there will be others for a park in the US and the new Metropolitan Park in Beirut, Lebanon. This destination will also get a Junior Rapid Ride from the newly founded water division. 480 meters in length, the 12 meters high canal will be adapted to a natural slope with the station at the highest point. The second of the two drops will be placed directly behind the wave basin, and the boats for six people will be put in considerable rotation by the current.

So Maurer Söhne can´t complain about a bad order situation. With the actual product range the Munich-based company has a very good stand, and they can optimistically look into the future.

Formula Pax model

Last year Pax from Moscow celebrated their 15th anniversary, and they look optimistically into the future. The staff increased from 50 to 770, the company operates the largest amusement park of the country at the Black Sea and the Russian market leader could also position itself at western Europe: In 2000 a Wild Train 15 was delivered to French Parc Saint Paul, and this family coaster offers a convincing ride with an energetic and pretty diversified layout. The standardized track design can take on the products of the competitors in the west and brought a huge increase in attendance for the small amusement park. That's reason enough for the owner Gilles Campion to present even two new thrill machines from this company for the 2004 season.

Next to a 38 meters high Free Fall Tower with 16 seats, Formula Pax will have opened until summer. This Wild Mouse with 380 meters of track will feature the typical, unbanked 180 degree bends, but also some 60 degrees steep drops and twisted parts as well as extremely banked turns. "The rides have been ordered in September 2002, right now they are being fabricated at our site in Moscow", Elena Sherstikova, Sales Manager of Pax company, tells us. The production processes comply with western standards, so for example the company's welding department holds a certificate of TÜV Essen.

Wild Train 15 at Parc Saint Paul

With a sales volume of 24 million US dollars in 2002 Pax is one of the larger companies in the business. Next to roller coasters, for example a smaller version of the Wild Train with a footprint of 17 x 41 meters for a Spanish showman (this Wild Train 12 had its debut at a fairground in Sevilla last fall), the steel manufacturer also builts giant wheels.

The 90 meters high wheel at Mirabilandia, Italy is the second highest panoramic wheel in Europe, and for the end of this year or early 2005 a 200 meters version is being developed for the Russian capital right now. Its spacious gondolas will be equipped with a small restaurant and offer enough space for several dozens of passengers. Responsible designer Jean-Marc Toussaint can even imagine integrated amusement devices for the smallest riders in the future.

Mini Extreme Park

And there is another project for the future: Right now the engineers work on the redesign of the 30 meters high inverted coaster Pax Scream, a concept with extreme sensations of weightlessness that caused some furore at different trade shows during the recent years. Right now there are spots with vertical forces of more than 6g the engineers try to eliminate.

Pax has two other business divisions next to designing and manufacturing amusement rides. One of them is the production of masts for telecommunications, the other one the operation and delivery of complete leisure parks. In 2002 Admiral Vrungel, a fully equipped theme park, opened to the public at Gelendjik, Russia. This gap in the market is filled with the opening of so-called Extreme Parks that offer a complete selection of thrill rides on a footprint of only one hectare.

In the last 16 years Pax became a competitor that has to be taken seriously. Complying with western standards the company is able to offer its products at a very attractive price.