Universal Studios Hollywood officially announces Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, a roller coaster set to debut in 2026. It’s the park’s first high-speed outdoor coaster, complete with a state-of-the-art ride system, 360-degree spinning cars, and a track that snakes over the park’s Upper Lot.
Universal Studios Hollywood has been teasing this project for years, with rumors swirling among theme park enthusiasts long before construction broke ground in July 2023. Now, it’s official: Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will open in 2026, transforming a chunk of the Upper Lot—previously home to the Animal Actors Stage and Special Effects Show—into a high-octane playground.
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Stepping into the queue, riders will enter a familiar red-brick garage that looks to be straight from the Fast & Furious films. Once aboard, guests strap into ride vehicles modeled after the franchise’s iconic vehicles. Each car rotates 360 degrees, spinning riders in controlled drifts. “The state-of-the-art ride system is being uniquely designed to immerse guests within the high-speed Fast & Furious universe,” Universal notes in its press release.
The track itself is a marvel, winding through the Upper Lot and dipping toward the Lower Lot, with a reported top speed of 72 mph. Built by Intamin, a Swiss manufacturer known for coasters like VelociCoaster at Universal Orlando, the layout includes banked turns, inversions, and a loop around the park’s Starway escalator. The track is filled with pea gravel to dampen vibrations, and half-pipe shields redirect rider screams away from nearby communities. “Being able to rotate the cars provides the ability to turn and program vehicles away from the community at key scream moments,” Universal explains on its community outreach website.
The 360-degree spins aren’t just for show—they’re choreographed to evoke the drifting techniques popularized by The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Riders will feel like they’re sliding through a neon-lit street race, even as the coaster rockets through inversions and launches over escalators. Two trains, each holding 16 passengers, will run simultaneously, ensuring high capacity and shorter wait times. Universal’s expertise in coaster innovation, honed across its global parks, shines here. “The Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster will benefit from Universal Destinations & Experiences’ decades-long expertise in revolutionizing the development of the contemporary roller coaster,” the press release states.
Construction is moving at breakneck speed. By April 2025, the track was complete, and ride trains arrived on-site in May. The coaster’s scale is staggering—its sound wall alone stretches longer than two football fields. Yet, Universal’s keeping some cards close to the chest. Will there be on-ride audio blasting Ludacris? Could augmented reality elements enhance the experience?
