Nemesis Reborn vs The Smiler

Vintage is the reversed stat — the older ride wins. Every number here is the same one printed on the card; see /methodology for how Build Cost and Throughput are sourced.

The verdict

The Smiler takes it 5–1, and the 1 Nemesis Reborn does win is the whole of its case.

Nemesis Reborn is a steel Inverted Coaster (full retrack of 1994 Nemesis) coaster at Alton Towers, GB, built by Bolliger & Mabillard. The Smiler is a steel Infinity Coaster coaster at Alton Towers, GB, built by Gerstlauer.

Both live at Alton Towers, so this is a comparison you can settle on foot in an afternoon — and one the park itself has to answer every time someone asks which to queue for first.

Both are steel-track, so nothing here is the usual steel-versus-wood argument in disguise.

Stat by stat

• Height goes to The Smiler at 98 ft against 43 ft — more than double.
• Speed goes to The Smiler at 53 mph against 50 mph — ahead by a whisker.
• The Smiler takes Inversions 14 to 4.
• Throughput goes to Nemesis Reborn at 1,200 rph against 1,050 rph — clearly ahead.
• Build Cost goes to The Smiler at 28.1 $m against 15.2 $m — nearly double.
• 11 years separate them, and because Vintage rewards age it is The Smiler (2013) that banks the point, not Nemesis Reborn (2024).