A few weeks ago, Bob Chapek announced at the D23 Expo Japan that the Guardians of the Galaxy indoor roller coaster at Epcot would feature revolutionary ride system. Well, now we are getting our first look at the yet-to-be-revealed, first-of-its-kind roller coaster vehicles for the upcoming Epcot attraction…

The following photos were found on Theme Park Review’s forums, posted by MrRC. There were taken at coaster-builder Vekoma’s testing facilities.

Based on what we have seen in a few internal documents, we are fairly certain that these trains being tested are for the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster coming to Epcot. They pretty closely follow the seating layout and car design that was originally reported in our post a few months ago. The design with the cars elevated above the train makes the roller coaster track less visible to guests during the ride, something that would make sense given Imagineering’s desire to immerse guests in the story of the attraction.

Do keep in mind that these cars will look much different when implemented, featuring a sleeker look and some themed elements, such as rockets on the back of them (just like Space Mountain). They will be some sort of Xandarian vehicles in story, featuring design flourishes that mirror the ship that will sit outside of the Future World pavilion (as seen in the concept art).

There may be a controlled spinning element to the coaster cars, but it can not be confirmed at this time.

Guardians of the Galaxy will open at Epcot by 2021, replacing the Universe of Energy.