Formula Rossa is back with a new speed record. (Photo by: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made a name for itself by setting Guinness world records so when it lost one of its most audacious accolades at the end of last year it didn’t take it lying down. Just four months after losing the crown of having the world's fastest roller coaster it has raced back into pole position thanks to some engineering wizardry and marketing magic.

There is a strategic reason behind the UAE’s use of world records. The country's economy has been built on oil and gas but in recent years it has turned to tourism to diversify its revenue streams as its fossil fuel reserves are running out.

The UAE has poured its profits into developing world-class resorts, restaurants, malls, museums and theme parks in order to attract tourists from all over the world. Doing that requires promotion and few initiatives drive global exposure like setting a world record.

This explains why Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and many of the five other Emirates which form the UAE, set record after record. The country built the world’s largest shopping mall, the world's tallest tower and even the world's deepest diving pool. Indeed, the UAE sets so many records that Guinness opened a permanent office there back in 2013. Abu Dhabi alone has kept it busy.

Capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi is home to its most-visited theme parks which are located on the man-made Yas Island. They include SeaWorld, Warner Bros. World, Yas Waterworld and Ferrari World, the world’s first attraction based on the iconic Italian motor marque and the first theme park to swing open its doors on Yas Island.

The theme park opened in 2010 and shares Ferrari’s flair as it sits inside a sleek steel and glass structure. It gives guests respite from the searing heat in Abu Dhabi which often races past 100 degrees in the summer. Inside, the park looks like a cross between a motor museum and a world's fair as an eclectic group of attractions is located inside pavilions under the main dome.

There's a display dedicated to Ferrari's on-track heritage featuring full-size race cars and banners lining the walls listing their accolades. Another attraction is a flying theater giving guests a bird's eye view of some of Italy's most famous landscapes accompanied by the smell of the scenery and the sensation of wind rushing over them. Around one corner of the park there's even a meticulously-themed Italian street complete with artificially-cracked pavement and a piazza filled with stone columns covered in plaster which appears to be peeling off exposing the brickwork beneath it.

Ornate iron street lamps stand outside what appears to be a colorful quaint row of houses with shutters on the windows, flower boxes in front of them and traditional terracotta tiles lining the roofs. Stone urns stand at the side of the street and vines even creep around the wooden window frames of the buildings which actually have shops inside them.

Ferrari World quickly put Abu Dhabi on the map thanks to its collection of record-breaking rides. They include Flying Aces, a coaster with the world’s highest loop at a vertiginous 63 meters, and Formula Rossa which sits at the top of Ferrari World's podium. Made by veteran coaster manufacturer Intamin, Formula Rossa hits a top speed of 149.1 miles per hour which earned it the title of the world's fastest coaster when it debuted in 2010.

That all changed at the end of last year when Six Flags Qiddiya City opened in nearby Saudi Arabia. With a top speed of 155.3 miles per hour, the park’s flagship attraction, Falcon's Flight, overtook Formula Rossa and became the world's fastest roller coaster.

Although Falcon’s Flight was also made by Intamin, there are a number of significant differences between the two coasters. Firstly, unlike Formula Rossa, which uses a hydraulic propulsion system, Falcon's Flight reaches maximum velocity thanks to a boost from a linear synchronous motor (LSM). In simple terms, an LSM is an 'unfurled' electric motor as it produces motion in a straight line rather than rotation. That's just the start.

Falcon’s Flight pioneered the use of a roller coaster for what can be best described as sight-seeing purposes. That's because the track climbs from ground level up the side of a 525 feet mountain where riders get sweeping views of the surrounding desert with the lights of the nearby city of Riyadh twinkling in the distance. The ride cars, which fittingly have a falcon's head on the front, come complete with cleverly-designed curved windshields to deflect the turbulent air away from the riders ensuring that they get a clear view.

After a brief pause at the peak of the mountain, so that riders can take in the scenery, the ride car rockets down the mountain, getting up to top speed thanks to the LSM boost. They then mount an arched section of track which, at 534.8 feet, also makes Falcon’s Flight the world's tallest roller coaster.

Formula Rossa is equally breathtaking but for different reasons. Its entrance is framed with giant portraits of Ferrari Legends such as Alberto Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio. The ride cars are red (of course) and the one at the front is shaped like the nose of Ferrari's famous F1 cars with mock jet-black tires sticking out the sides.

Riders receive plastic goggles and they are needed almost immediately as the coaster hits top speed just seconds after it leaves the loading area. It is designed to replicate the sensation of being in an F1 car at the start of a Grand Prix and no corners have been cut. On launch the ride generates a positive G-force of 4.8 which is in line with what F1 drivers experience in an average race and beats the 4.3G experienced on Falcon’s Flight.

The record-setting speed and F1 pedigree have attracted more than 6.8 million riders to Formula Rossa since it debuted while Ferrari World has welcomed over 13 million visitors from 195 countries. Formula Rossa’s record promotes the park so its management was faced with a dilemma on losing its accolade as the fastest coaster in the world.

It seemed that either they would have to try to increase Formula Rossa’s speed or delete from all of the marketing campaigns and posters the claim that it is the 'world's fastest roller coaster'. However, the park's management refused to give up and, in the end brain power got them to the finish line.

The theme parks on Yas Island are run by government-backed Miral, a specialist leisure operator which employs many of the brightest minds in the industry. As I recently reported, the dynamic duo of Miral’s supremely-skilled chief executive Mohamed Al Zaabi and his marketing mastermind Badr Bourji have generated campaigns which have been watched billions of times so they weren't going to shy away from the challenge posed by Falcon's Flight.

Al Zaabi and Bourji are supported by talented teams in Miral and Ferrari World itself, which is helmed by deputy general manager Vinod Kolani. A Miral veteran who has worked in senior roles at all of its parks, Kolani was part of the pre-opening team at Ferrari World so he knows it like the back of his hand. It’s exactly what Miral needed to ride out the battle with Falcon's Flight.

It soon emerged that Miral didn't need to try to beat the new ride or delete any of its claims from its marketing material. All that was needed was a slight change that is so subliminal it is hardly noticeable. It realized that thanks to the differences in format of the two coasters, Formula Rossa accelerates to its top speed faster than Falcon's Flight which only reaches maximum velocity in the middle of the ride.

In specific, Formula Rossa rockets from 0 to 149.1 miles per hour in just 4.9 seconds giving it the world’s fastest roller coaster launch. No new updates to the ride were required to earn this accolade and the only adjustment that had to be made to the marketing material was the insertion of the word 'launch' after the statement that Ferrari World has 'the world's fastest roller coaster'. Guinness certified it late last month and Miral's communications maestros Weber Shandwick spread the word. As they say, the rest is history.

Not only is it entirely legitimate to say that Ferrari World is home to the world’s fastest roller coaster launch, but it it is also more of a selling point to fans. The top speed of both coasters is so close that the difference between them is almost imperceptible but the difference in acceleration certainly isn't.

Ferrari World’s latest honor joins a long list of other records and firsts for Yas Island. They include having the world’s largest indoor skydiving wind tunnel, the world’s tallest indoor climbing wall, the world’s first Warner Bros. themed hotel, the world’s only SFX Coaster (a cross between a roller coaster and a simulator as this report explained) and the world’s largest 360-Degree LED screen as I revealed and this report subsequently confirmed. It doesn’t stop there.

Yas Island is currently in the midst of a major expansion with two new rides themed to DC Comics super hero characters coming to Warner Bros. World along with a land based on Harry Potter. Yas Waterworld recently debuted a new slide tower and SeaWorld launched a charming springtime SeaBloom show.

Ferrari World hasn’t been forgotten as it opened a new Esports arena in late 2024 and last year launched an extravagant new restaurant called Gran Tour Emilia. It is inspired by Emilia-Romagna, the Italian region where Ferrari's headquarters are located and where many of Italy's most famous dishes originate. The attention to detail in the restaurant is astounding, right down to the cutlery which is designed by Pininfarina, the studio behind some of Ferrari's most celebrated cars such as the Testarossa and the F40. There is more to come.

Last year Al Zaabi told this author that "we are bringing a new ride to Ferrari World that will be very unique with four records. I think roller coaster fans will be very excited". Pulling that off might not be an easy ride but given Miral’s track record, it should be well worth waiting for.

Additional reporting by Chris Sylt