STEVE NELSON meets Rita, the new attraction at the Alton Towers theme park, and finds she is one fast lady.

AW, come on, you can't be serious. Yes, it's true, they've called the new scary ride at Alton Towers by the name of... wait for it.. you won't believe this... RITA!

Now, how girlie is that? What's happening down there? This is the theme park that brought you the dastardly Nemesis, the heart-stopping Oblivion and the awe-inspiring Air. They are proper names that conjure up what's in store.

Nemesis is almost a punishment. It's the world's most intense ride, it can leave riders in tears, turn legs to jelly. It is retribution on a steel track among rivers of fake blood.

Oblivion, in which riders are plunged from a great height into a steaming chasm after being left dangling for a couple of seconds to ponder their fate, is an experience never to be forgotten.

Air is all about that feeling of flying through the air, twisting, turning, dipping and weaving while being held horizontally beneath the roller-coaster track.

But what about Rita, or to give it the full title, Rita - Queen Of Speed? I was left scratching my head to think of any Rita that might provide the right image. There's Rita Fairclough, of course, a Queen Of Soaps, and for older readers there is Rita Hayworth, Queen Of The Movies, but little else sprang to mind, apart from Lovely Rita, the meter maid in the Beatles song.

And this Rita is not what you would call lovely, even though she is good looking in a steel curves sort of way.

Apparently, this Rita is based on the hotrod racing cars of the USA, where their owners have a penchant for giving female names to the racers.

Don't be fooled by the name. What those people at Alton Towers have come up with is a ride that hurtles you along a track at such speed that you are left gasping by the experience.

It is the fastest coaster in Europe, and the first "launch" type in the UK, with an acceleration of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in only 2.5 seconds. That is a land speed you are unlikely ever to experience elsewhere, unless you have a go at drag racing.

I was left with tears in my eyes by the sudden blast of air, and other riders spoke of a gut-wrenching sensation.

Rita, which cost £8 million, has been built in the park's Ug Land, section, and its red track appears to entwine with the yellow coils of the adjacent Corkscrew coaster's tracks.

There's a rock and roll feel, with the racetrack appearance being complemented with a stadium rock soundtrack of Bon Jovi, ZZ Top and the like.

The carriages are standard coaster types, but the harnesses are noticeably different in design with a fancy clasp to cope with the thrust.

That thrust comes at the end of a short countdown, accompanied by the sound of revving engines, when thoughts turn to being anywhere else rather than on this starting grid.

Then it's WHOOOAAARRGGHHH as Rita catapults her cargo for a 49-second adrenaline trip.

Riders are launched down the straight stretch of a 640-metre track with a face-blasting 4.7 G-force, and even when the ride slows slightly to cope with the twists and turns to come, the speedo still averages 61kph.

That initial rush of speed hits like a hammer, slamming into your cheekbones and leaving you wondering just how good the braking system is on this contraption. The scream factor is way off the scale, rivalling even the mighty Oblivion.

Rita - Queen Of Speed is a worthy addition to an infamous stable.

Prices for park entry start at £28 on the gate (£25 through advance booking on the website, www.altontowers.com), or £21 for children aged 4-11 (under-4s go free).

Packages for the Alton Towers Hotel and neighbouring Splash Landings Hotel in the Alton Towers Resort are also available. The cost for one night's accommodation for a family of four (two adults and two children aged between four and 11), including breakfast and entry to the Cariba Creek waterpark at the Splash Landings Hotel, is £167. Park tickets cost and additional £20 each per person each day.

Alton Towers is in Staffordshire and can be reached from the north by leaving junction 28 on the M1 and following the signs.

Updated: 16:48 Friday, April 01, 2005