Ride records · Top speed
The Fastest Roller Coasters in the World
Ranked strictly by published top speed, using the figures listed on RCDB or the manufacturer's own specification. Launch systems, not lift hills, dominate the top of this list.
This is a ride-level list. Related: see which parks hold the most records →
Formula Rossa
Still the fastest roller coaster on earth, firing riders to 240 km/h in under five seconds on a hydraulic launch.
Top speed240 km/hKingda Ka
The tallest coaster ever built, a 139 m hydraulic top-hat that closed in 2024 but still holds the height record.
Top speed206 km/hTop Thrill 2
Cedar Point's reborn strata coaster trades hydraulics for LSMs and adds a backwards launch up a second spike.
Top speed193 km/hDo-Dodonpa
The world's quickest acceleration — 0 to 180 km/h in 1.56 seconds — closed since 2021 pending safety review.
Top speed180 km/hRed Force
Europe's tallest and fastest coaster, a 112 m top hat next door to (but separate from) PortAventura Park.
Top speed180 km/hSuperman: Escape from Krypton
A backwards LSM shuttle that rockets 126 m straight up a vertical tower for a few seconds of true airtime.
Top speed160 km/hTower of Terror II
Australia's shuttle-tower legend, briefly the world's fastest coaster, retired in 2019.
Top speed160 km/hFury 325
The definitive modern giga: 99 m, 153 km/h and a first drop that runs the whole length of the midway.
Top speed153 km/hSteel Dragon 2000
The longest steel coaster ever built at 2,479 m of track, and Japan's tallest full-circuit ride.
Top speed153 km/hMillennium Force
The first giga coaster and still the benchmark for relentless, cable-lifted speed over water.
Top speed150 km/hLeviathan
B&M's first giga, an 80-degree first drop with the smoothest high-speed ride in Canada.
Top speed148 km/hIntimidator 305
A 93 m plunge into a first turn so forceful it was retracked — still the most aggressive giga built.
Top speed145 km/hHyperion
Poland's giant hyper coaster, with an 85-degree first drop and sustained ejector airtime.
Top speed142 km/hGoliath
A grey steel monolith famous for its greyout-inducing helix at the end of the layout.
Top speed137 km/hShambhala
A Himalayan-themed hyper coaster built around floater airtime and a splashdown finale.
Top speed134 km/hXcelerator
The original hydraulic-launch coaster, a 1950s hot-rod theme wrapped around a 62 m top hat.
Top speed132 km/hSilver Star
Europa-Park's Mercedes-backed hyper coaster, long the tallest coaster in Germany.
Top speed130 km/hFujiyama
The 1990s 'King of Coasters', still sprinting under Mount Fuji at 130 km/h.
Top speed130 km/hStealth
Britain's fastest coaster: 0–129 km/h in 1.9 seconds, then straight over a 62 m top hat.
Top speed129 km/hNitro
New Jersey's airtime machine — eight hills of floater over the Pine Barrens.
Top speed128 km/hIron Gwazi
The tallest hybrid coaster in the world, with a 91-degree drop off a rebuilt wooden structure.
Top speed122 km/hSkyrush
Notorious for brutal ejector airtime and lap bars that make every hill a fight.
Top speed121 km/hZadra
Europe's tallest hybrid coaster, with three inversions and the steepest drop on the continent.
Top speed121 km/hColossos — Kampf der Giganten
One of the tallest wooden coasters ever built, retracked in 2019 and running better than new.
Top speed120 km/hSteel Vengeance
Over 27 seconds of airtime across four inversions — routinely voted the best coaster in the world.
Top speed119 km/h