40 SECONDS OF FEAR : SUPERMAN DEFEATS DELAY, TAKES RIDERS UP, UP, AWAY.

Byline: Glenn Gaslin Daily News Staff Writer

The screaming begins instantly, as the six-ton roller coaster car hurtles its passengers toward 100 mph, faster than any ride in the country.

``We. All. Gonna. Die,'' says slack-jawed teen Jemille Baily, facing the much-anticipated and long-delayed new Superman The Escape thrill ride Wednesday at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

The new coaster, billed as a superhuman single-bound leap into the future of theme park physics, will open this weekend after nine months of delays.

At an unveiling Wednesday, the nation's 14th-largest theme park drowned out the summer's embarrassing setbacks with the boom of fireworks, the high-pitched squeal of metal on metal and screams of unbridled terror.

Several hundred riders - roller coaster enthusiasts, park employees' friends and a television anchorwoman dressed like Superman - showed up for sneak peeks of the 40-second ride.

``I just want to pig out,'' says coaster nut Paul Ruben, an editor at Park World amusement magazine. He uses words like ``smooth,'' ``comfortable'' and ``relaxed'' to describe the well-engineered inertia.

Maybe that's because Superman The Escape behaves and, at moments, feels more like a commuter train than a rickety roller coaster. It's faster, quieter and has only two sets of tracks: one straight forward, one 41 stories straight up.

And while most coasters rely on gravity for speed, Superman The Escape uses something called a linear synchronous motor, a computer-controlled series of magnets and electricity.

What this means is: It wastes no time with that slowly-climbing-up-a-hill business. It's fast from takeoff.

``The best part is the first five seconds,'' explains Paul Bleilen, a Saugus software engineer who took the day off work. While strapped into one of the ride's cushioned chairs, he flies forward, approaching the target speed of 100 mph within seven seconds, two seconds slower than a Porsche 911 could manage.

Below him, electricity pulses through a series of magnets embedded in the car and track, pushing them toward each other and, within milliseconds, away. The system uses technology proven over decades with high-speed rails in Japan, France and Canada.

Those trains routinely run at 180 mph, but pushing the engine so fast on such a short track (600 feet), caused the summer's delay, explains Jim Blackie, project manager for the ride. Fine-tuning the control software took months longer than expected.

The ride now hits its speeding-bullet mark - 100 mph with a light passenger load - at the end of the straightaway, just as it sweeps toward the top of a 415-foot-tall tower. Swapping speed for altitude, riders can take advantage of the best view in Valencia or stare at the approaching tower top.

And what do they see? What greets these hearty travelers?

It's a statue! It's a man in blue tights! It's Superman!

``Superman looks really fake,'' says Brock Harman, 11, of Acton, who has come face to face with the Man of Steel 14 times. ``He's got all this brown stuff on his face.''

But the moment doesn't last long, and the car stops and slides backward, submitting to gravity, creating three eerie seconds of weightlessness, which many riders don't notice on the way up. (A reporter's press badge, usually hanging around his neck, appears to float straight out before him.)

``Have you ever been on a high-rise elevator that feels like it's going down too fast?'' explains Bleilen. ``That's what it feels like.''

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PHOTO (color) Exultant riders reach the 41-story summit of the Superman the Escape ride at a preview Wednesday at Magic Mountain. The attraction will open to the public this weekend.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News