The Euthanasia Coaster: Designer Reveals the Precise Moment the Ride Claims Its Rider

 

In the strange intersection of art, engineering, and philosophy, few creations are as unsettling and thought-provoking as the Euthanasia Coaster — a hypothetical roller coaster designed to kill its passengers through a carefully calculated sequence of loops and forces. Now, more than a decade after its concept first stunned the world, the coaster's designer, Julijonas Urbonas, has revealed the exact moment during the ride when life begins to slip away from the rider.

A Death Machine in the Guise of a Thrill Ride

Conceived in 2010 by Lithuanian artist and engineer Julijonas Urbonas, the Euthanasia Coaster is not your typical amusement park attraction. Urbonas, who has a background in amusement park design and a fascination with human limits, imagined the coaster as a euthanasia device, offering a euphoric, elegant, and humane way to end one's life.

The ride starts with a slow, towering ascent to 500 meters — higher than the tallest existing roller coaster today. At the summit, the rider would have a final chance to reconsider, before plunging into a rapid descent that reaches terminal speeds of 360 km/h (about 223 mph). From there, the car enters a series of seven consecutive loops, each slightly smaller than the last, designed to sustain a lethal G-force of 10 g for a duration sufficient to cause cerebral hypoxia — a lack of oxygen to the brain — leading to death.

The Lethal Threshold: When Does Death Begin?

Until recently, Urbonas has described the coaster's deadly process in broader terms, focusing on the cumulative effect of sustained high g-forces. However, in a recent interview with an independent design journal, he detailed the precise moment when the physiological journey from life to death begins.

“Based on the physiological data and aerospace medicine research we referenced when designing the coaster, the human body begins to experience critical symptoms after about 5 to 10 seconds of sustained 10 g-force,” Urbonas explains. “At around the third loop — roughly six seconds into this part of the ride — most passengers would enter what’s known as 'greyout' or 'blackout' stages due to the blood draining from the brain.”

It is in this third loop, Urbonas claims, that the rider effectively begins to die. The lack of oxygenated blood reaching the brain would cause loss of consciousness, followed by irreversible brain damage shortly after if exposure continues. By the fifth loop, he notes, it is highly probable that the heart would cease proper function as well. The remaining loops serve to ensure complete fatality, in what Urbonas describes as a “humane and euphoric” passage.

A Controversial Concept

When Urbonas first presented his project, it was met with both fascination and horror. Critics called it macabre and dystopian, while supporters hailed it as a deeply thoughtful, albeit hypothetical, commentary on death, autonomy, and modern technology's role in life-ending decisions.

Medical professionals have weighed in too. Dr. Sarah Linton, a neurologist specializing in cerebral hypoxia, remarked, “At 10 g, the brain is essentially starved of oxygen. In a normal environment, unconsciousness sets in quickly — usually within six to eight seconds. Prolonged exposure beyond this, as Urbonas describes, would indeed be fatal.”

Despite being a purely theoretical design — no Euthanasia Coaster has ever been built — the project continues to provoke ethical debates. It raises questions about end-of-life rights, the aesthetics of death, and the thin line between entertainment and existential commentary.

The Intention Behind the Machine

For Urbonas, the coaster is less about death and more about the philosophical implications of choosing one’s final moments. “It’s not a death machine,” he insists. “It’s a tool for reflection. A sculpture that offers the ultimate thrill — both physically and existentially.”

He emphasizes the importance of the rider’s final ascent, the slow climb to 500 meters, as a metaphor for the life-review process. The pause at the top allows for contemplation, perhaps even a last-minute decision to abort the ride. Urbonas has long envisioned a “Stop” button within reach until the final drop — a small but significant gesture toward preserving autonomy.

Would it Ever Be Built?

Despite public curiosity, ethical concerns and legal constraints make the actual construction of a Euthanasia Coaster highly unlikely. Assisted dying remains a deeply contentious issue worldwide, with few jurisdictions permitting euthanasia under strictly regulated circumstances, let alone through a roller coaster.

Urbonas, however, views its unbuildability as part of the artwork’s message. “The fact that it can’t exist in the real world reflects the paradoxes of our society’s relationship with death,” he says. “We fear it, legislate it, and try to avoid it — yet we’re obsessed with it in culture, entertainment, and art.”

The Last Ride

As provocative as it remains, the Euthanasia Coaster continues to captivate imaginations and spark conversations about mortality, agency, and the ethics of engineered death. With Urbonas now pinpointing the moment life begins to fade on the ride — around that third loop, six seconds into a 10 g descent — the concept takes on an even sharper, more unsettling edge.

It may never be built, but the Euthanasia Coaster lives on as a haunting thought experiment: a final ride where thrill, terror, and serenity intertwine, and where the boundary between life and death is crossed at precisely the moment the loops blur into one endless, euphoric curve.