A Kart is a vehicle used in the Mario Kart series for racing. They come in different colors and appearances depending on both the characters driving them and the game that they are in.
Karts first appeared in Super Mario Kart; they have since reappeared in every following incarnation. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! introduced custom karts for each character and a simple kart stat system. Mario Kart DS expanded on the stat system, which is also slightly expanded in Mario Kart Wii. In Mario Kart DS, all karts have about even stats (depending on the character's weight, the weight changes) with the occasional high or low. Each character has 3 karts, making for a total of 36. In Mario Kart Wii, there are 6 karts for each weight class, making for a total of 18. The term Kart has another meaning in Super Mario Kart, in which Karts replaced the term of Extra Lives in Grand Prix mode. When a driver only reached the fifth position or below, they would lose one of their four Karts. Losing the last Kart would quit the Grand Prix. However, it is possible to get one back under certain circumstances.
A Kart also appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a trophy. Here are the karts, arranged by game. (Note: Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit all feature a basic, metal pipe frame kart for each character; their performance is different for each.)
In Mario Kart series[]
Super Mario Kart[]
In Super Mario Kart, the term Kart had an alternate meaning; they meant "extra life". If a driver failed to reach the top four, he or she would lose one of his four karts. Losing the final kart would mean that player would effectively quit the Grand Prix. However, mitigating circumstances may allow you to recover one of your karts. This idea was later abolished.
- Standard Performance: (Middleweights) Mario & Luigi
- Fast Acceleration: (Middleweights) Peach & Yoshi
- High Top Speed: (Heavyweights) Bowser & Donkey Kong Jr.
- Good Handling: (Lightweights) Koopa Troopa & Toad
.png "Mario Artwork (Super Mario Kart).png (9 KB)")
.png "Luigi Artwork (Super Mario Kart).png (8 KB)")
.png "Peach Artwork (Super Mario Kart).png (9 KB)")
.png "Koopa Artwork (Super Mario Kart).png (7 KB)")
.png "Bowser Artwork (Super Mario Kart).png (409 KB)")
Mario Kart 64[]
Karts reappear in Mario Kart 64 as racing elements once again, but has added weights as an addition with there being three kinds; Light, Medium, and Heavy. Mario and Luigi are mediumweight, Yoshi, Princess Peach and Toad are lightweight, and Wario, Bowser, and Donkey Kong are heavyweight.
- Lightweights: Toad, Peach, Yoshi
- Middleweights: Mario & Luigi
- Heavyweights: Wario, Donkey Kong, Bowser
.gif "Mario Artwork (Mario Kart 64).gif (13 KB)")
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[]
In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, the Kart is reused as a generic metal-pipe frame for each character and has not changed one bit from Mario Kart 64. It except shows the stats for the kart when selecting a character.
- Lightweights: Toad, Peach, Yoshi*
- Middleweights: Mario & Luigi
- Heavyweights: Wario, Donkey Kong, Bowser*
- Yoshi is slightly heavier than Peach and Toad but slightly lighter than Mario and Luigi
- Bowser is slightly heavier than Wario and Donkey Kong, thus making him the heaviest character
Mario Kart: Double Dash!![]
The karts reappear in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with major changes. They have names, come in different shapes and sizes rather than the customs in the previous Mario Kart games. Certain karts can fit certain characters depending on their weight and size. There are also different unlockable ones and there are also more stats added to the karts in this game. This game also featured two characters being on one kart at once depending on their size. The Parade Kart is usable by anyone, no matter what size the character(s) are. There are twenty one karts total in the game.
- Red Fire
- Green Fire
- Rattle Buggy
- Toad Kart
- Heart Coach
- Toadette Kart
- Goo-Goo Buggy
- Koopa Dasher
- DK Jumbo
- Koopa King
- Rattle Buggy
- Para-Wing
- Barrel Train
- Bullet Blaster
- Bloom Coach
- Turbo Birdo
- Turbo Yoshi
- Wario Car
- Piranha Pipes
- Boo Pipes
- Parade Kart
- Waluigi Racer
Mario Kart DS[]
Karts make another appearance in Mario Kart DS as once again vehicles to race in. They are the same, but the standard karts have white bumpers on them as an additional design.
Mario Kart Wii[]
Karts make another appearance in Mario Kart Wii and act the same as they usually do and had the standard karts redesigned. The standard Karts are in the following categories: Standard Kart L, Standard Kart M, and Standard Kart S. The Standard S kart is for small characters, while M is for medium, and finally, L is for large ones. They also had new counterparts in the game, Bikes. There are six karts for each weight class, making a total of eighteen.
- Lightweights
- Mediumweight
- Heavyweight
Mario Kart 7[]
Karts reappear in Mario Kart 7. They remain the same from all the other times, but have the ability to glide in the air, have a propeller when going underwater, and are able to be customized. It also introduced Retro Karts, where players can drive karts that appeared in previous games.
- Standard Kart
- Birthday Girl/Royal Ribbon
- Bruiser/Growlster
- Blue Seven
- Bolt Buggy
- Cact-X
- Koopa Clown
- Cloud 9
- Bumble V
- Tiny Tug
- Soda Jet
- Zucchini/Gherkin
- Gold Standard/Gold Kart
The Retro Karts include:
Mario Kart 8[]
Karts reappear in Mario Kart 8. They remain the same from all the other times, but have the ability to have anti-gravity.
- Standard Kart
- Mach 8
- Steel Driver
- Cat Cruiser
- Circuit Special
- Tri-Speeder
- Badwagon
- Prancer
- Biddybuggy/Buggybud
- Landship
- Sneeker/Bounder
- Sports Coupe
- Mercedes (DLC)
- Tanooki Kart/Tanooki Buggy (DLC)
- Master Cycle (DLC)
The Retros include:
- Pipe Frame
- Gold Standard/Gold Kart
- B Dasher (DLC)
- Blue Falcon (DLC)
Crossover appearances[]
Super Smash Bros. series[]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[]
Kart trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
A Kart trophy is available in Super Smash Bros. Melee and its number is 213. Its description is as follows:
The famous racing karts from the ever-popular Mario Kart racing series come loaded for speed with three different engine sizes: 50, 100, and 150 cc. The karts' handling differs with the characters driving them, but all of them utilize Mario Kart standards like drift, jump, and turbo. They're extremely durable and impossible to total.
Super Mario Kart
9/92
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Shy Guys driving in their karts in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Karts make a brief appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as obstacles on which Shy Guys ride on in the stage, Mario Circuit. They are riding on karts looking like the renders from Mario Kart DS as the stage is based on Figure-8 Circuit, the first stage in Mario Kart DS. As brawlers fight, karts with the Shy Guys in it pass by and attack brawlers who are not careful. Their bumpers are colored as a difference and have Shy Guy emblems on them as Shy Guys are riding them.
In other media[]
The Super Mario Bros. Movie[]
Karts show up in a Rainbow Road scene of the movie. The karts have rockets, cannons, and blasters, that shoot Bananas or Koopa Shells, equipped to fire at the opponent team. Koopas have canons that shoot Koopa Shells and Bullet Bills. One of the karts was a giant bulldozer that the Blue Shell general was in. Peach's Bike can also drive onto water, a concept that has not yet occurred in the Mario Kart series.