Pipe Frame
- "Racing Kart" redirects here. For the overall karts, seeKart.
| Pipe Frame | |
|---|---|
 The Pipe Frame inMario Kart Tour | |
| Strong stats | Acceleration, Off-Road (7) Acceleration, Handling (8) Acceleration, Handling, Traction (8 Deluxe) Slipstreams (Tour) Acceleration (World) |
| Average stats | Handling (7) Speed (8) None (8 Deluxe) Handling (World) |
| Weak stats | Speed, Weight (7) Weight, Traction (8) Speed, Weight (8 Deluxe) Speed, Weight (World) |
| Appears in | Super Mario Kart,Mario Kart 64,Mario Kart: Super Circuit,Super Smash Bros. Melee (trophy cameo)Mario Kart 7,Mario Kart 8,Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,Mario Kart Tour,Mario Kart World |
- “Yoshi's go-kart really goes!”
- —Super Mario Kart US commercial
ThePipe Frame (also formerly known simply as theGo-Kart untilMario Kart 7, also calledRacing Kart inSuper Smash Bros. Melee) is the original form of thekart that appears in the first three installments of theMario Kart series and is the predecessor to theStandard Kart. Throughout the games it appears in, the kart has different colors depending on the driver. In its original appearances, the Pipe Frame acts as the one and only vehicle available. The abilities of the kart depend on the driver so the kart itself has no strong or weak points.
After a 10-year absence, the Pipe Frame returns inMario Kart 7,Mario Kart 8, andMario Kart 8 Deluxe as an unlockable kart body. It generally gives a boost in acceleration and handling while decreasing weight and traction. The Pipe Frame also appears inMario Kart Tour as the starting kart and returns once again inMario Kart World.
The Pipe Frame kart has a passing resemblance to an early '80s World Championship kart raced byAyrton Senna, an icon in Japan due to his connections withHonda, and to modernmicro karts known for their combination of small frames and powerful engines.
History[edit]
Mario Kart series[edit]
Super Mario Kart[edit]
The kart makes its first appearance inSuper Mario Kart, designed as simple, small go-karts with different colors (red for Mario, blue for Luigi, pink for Peach, red-orange for Yoshi, green for Bowser, olive for Donkey Kong Jr., yellow for Koopa Troopa, and azure for Toad) and various performance traits for each character, along with an ability toboost bydrifting.
Each character's kart has different engines; some use four-stroke and few others use two-stroke.
Mario Kart 64[edit]
The go-kart is redesigned inMario Kart 64, featuring realistic-looking wheels, new colors for every character (red for Mario, green for Luigi, rose for Peach, blue for Toad, light-green for Yoshi, yellow for Donkey Kong, violet for Wario, and red-orange for Bowser) and a cubical engine with dual exhaust pipes. It also has a different handling stat compared to its predecessor.
This time, all karts use two-stroke engines, with the exception ofToad's kart which uses a softer sounding four-stroke engine instead.
Toad andDonkey Kong are the only characters to have their own unique engine sound from any other character.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]
The kart's design and colors forMario Kart: Super Circuit remain unchanged fromMario Kart 64 aside from its handling, which is reverted to that ofSuper Mario Kart to fit the game's two-dimensional environment.
Unlike inMario Kart 64, all the karts now use four-stroke engines.
Mario Kart 7[edit]
After being absent in subsequent games afterMario Kart: Super Circuit, the Pipe Frame returns inMario Kart 7 as an unlockable kart body, using its same design fromMario Kart 64 andMario Kart: Super Circuit. The character's emblem is shown in the rear, underneath the engine. It is one of the three kart parts to have a different color for each character. The eight characters fromMario Kart 64 andMario Kart: Super Circuit, alongsideDaisy, retain the same color schemes as theirStandard Karts inMario Kart DS. Like inSuper Circuit, it has a four-stroke engine with powerful-sounding exhausts. Its engine is similar to theBlue Seven and theSprinter fromMario Kart Wii, which in turn the lower-pitched version of various karts fromMario Kart DS.
In terms of stats, the Pipe Frame slightly boosts acceleration, off-road, and drift, but slightly hinders top speed and weight, which makes it the polar opposite of theGold Standard in a way. In terms of its hidden stats, however, it gives a strong boost in sea and air speeds, and a good boost in mini-turbo, while not hindering any other stat.
WhiteMiis are the only color of Mii to receive a unique paint job, as no other character in the game uses a white Pipe Frame.
Color schemes[edit]
| Color | Characters | Color | Characters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Red |   |  Green |  | |
 Pink |  |  Lime green |  | |
 Orange |  |  Yellow |  | |
 Blue |  |  Neon yellow |  | |
 Yellow-orange |  |  Purple |  | |
 Turquoise |  |  Blue-gray |  | |
 Black |  |  Magenta |  | |
 Brown |  |  Cyan |  | |
 White | |
Mario Kart 8 /Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
The Pipe Frame reappears inMario Kart 8 andMario Kart 8 Deluxe again as an unlockable kart body. This time, it now resembles the kart's original design fromSuper Mario Kart, featuring only one exhaust pipe instead of two as seen inMario Kart 64,Mario Kart: Super Circuit andMario Kart 7. Additionally, the character emblem is now located in the front. Unlike its predecessor, it is now has a two-stroke engine and its sound is shared with theStandard Kart,Teddy Buggy,Wild Wiggler, and theSneeker, only having a softer exhaust noise. The engine sounds like a straight-four turbo rally from aCitroën C4 WRC.
Unlike past installments, the colors of the Pipe Frame are now shared with multiple characters, featuring 23 unique colors used among the 36 (41 inMario Kart 8 Deluxe) characters (and of those, twelve of the colors are exclusive to one character, counting alternate colors forYoshi andShy Guy, but excludingMiis aside from the brown color). The eight characters fromMario Kart 64 andMario Kart: Super Circuit once again retain the same color as they were in the original games, while Koopa Troopa now retains the yellow color from hisSuper Mario Kart artwork, while Daisy and Waluigi retain their respective colors fromMario Kart DS. All theKoopalings (exceptMorton) have unique colored steering wheels for their karts, as opposed to the standard black. Also, all the Koopalings have unique colored engines, as opposed to the standard goldenrod, and their wheel hinges are uniquely colored, instead of the usual gray. The Inkling Girl's orange variation uses the yellow Pipe Frame, though the icon on the kart selection screen shows the orange Pipe Frame instead.
Like theStandard Kart,Standard Bike, andStandard ATV, the Pipe Frame body is occasionally used by all the CPU-controlled characters. Most CPU racers will always pair the Pipe Frame with theStandard tires, but Donkey Kong and Koopa Troopa occasionally also use theMonster tires instead. InMario Kart 8 Deluxe, only a very few now use this body. CPUToad is occasionally seen using this body equipped with theSlim tires; Toad, as well asBaby Mario,Baby Luigi,Diddy Kong, andShy Guy, also equip it with theParafoil. The 150cc staff ghosts forDonut Plains 3 andCheese Land useLakitu andOrange Yoshi on the Pipe Frame with theMonster tires. The 200cc staff ghost forBone-Dry Dunes inMario Kart 8 Deluxe usesDry Bones on the Pipe Frame with theWood tires.
InMario Kart 8, the Pipe Frame gives a good boost in handling and a slight one in acceleration, but it hinders traction and slightly hinders weight. In terms of its hidden stats, it offers a good boost in sea and air handling, and slight boosts in sea and air speeds, anti-gravity handling and mini-turbo, while only slightly hindering anti-gravity speed. It shares its stats with theWild Wiggler,Standard Bike,Flame Rider,Varmint,W 25 Silver Arrow, andCity Tripper. Overall, the Pipe Frame has the second highest stat total of any kart body, and the third highest among all vehicles.
InMario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Pipe Frame's stats have been altered so that it now hinders speed, but gives a higher boost in acceleration and now slightly boosts traction. In terms of its hidden stats, it no longer increases water speed and now hinders air speed and air handling, while hindering anti-gravity speed further, with no compensation. It now only shares its stats with theVarmint andCity Tripper.
An early version of the Pipe Frame's body featured the same design it had fromMario Kart 64 andMario Kart: Super Circuit, with the only exception being that the character's emblem was located at the front, like in the body's final version.
TheMario Kart 8 version of the Pipe Frame was used in aLINE set of stickers based on the game, although lacked the emblem on the front and equipped with the tires fromSuper Mario Kart. It was also used in aGoogle Maps Easter egg forMar10 Day 2018, which ran for a week ending March 17, 2018. The Pipe Frame's appearance in Google Maps later reappears inMario Kart Tour.
Color schemes[edit]
| Color | Characters | Color | Characters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Red |             |  Green |           | |
 Pink |               |  Orange |            | |
 Sky blue |                 |  Hot pink |  | |
 Lime green |      |  Black |          | |
 Yellow[A] |              |  White |       | |
 Blue |              |  Silver |   | |
 Metallic pink |  |  Purple |    | |
 Indigo |  |  Red-orange |   | |
 Dark-cyan, with orange accents |  |  Yellow, with blue accents |  | |
 Hot pink, with fuchsia and teal accents |  |  Navy blue, with blue and green accents |  | |
 Lime green, with violet and purple accents |  |  Magenta, with pink and purple accents |  | |
 Dark gray, with green and blue-gray accents |  |  Brown |     |
- ^Inkling Girl's Pipe Frame is displayed as orange in menus.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
The Pipe Frame returns inMario Kart Tour, retaining itsMario Kart 8 design and serving as the starter kart. It uses the same tires that it used inGoogle Maps, which are based on its original tires from the first three games.
Much like in previous games, the Pipe Frame's color scheme varies depending on its driver; it is the only kart inMario Kart Tour with this distinction. Its color schemes are shared with theSuper Glider, which also chanages color to match its driver, with one exception: all drivers who use the golden or black Pipe Frame share a black Super Glider. Not every Pipe Frame matches the primary color of its driver, such as who uses the black Pipe Frame, despite being gold. Like theLandship andKoopa Clown, the Koopalings do not retain their unique color schemes fromMario Kart 8 andMario Kart 8 Deluxe, instead sharing the same color schemes as other drivers.
It is classified as a Normal kart, and it is automatically unlocked after starting the game. It is also regularly obtainable from pipes, and is included in the Daily Selects set. The Pipe Frame increases the duration ofSlipstream boosts and the amount of points earned for performing Slipstreams. It is the only available kart in several bonus challenges.
This game introduces three pixelated counterparts named the8-Bit Pipe Frame,Yellow 8-Bit Pipe Frame, andGold 8-Bit Pipe Frame, and another variant that has the gold color scheme but with golden versions of the Pipe Frame’s tires, named theGold Pipe Frame. Both are classified as High-End karts. A similar vehicle called thePipe Buggy also appears in the game.
Various official screenshots have non-standard Pipe Frame colors that diverge from the norm:
- In an official screenshot showing theBob-omb Cannon item,King Boo (Luigi's Mansion) drives a black Pipe Frame instead of a purple one;
- In an officialscreenshot used for thetoken event in theSuper Mario Kart Tour,Pauline is shown driving a white Pipe Frame instead of a magenta onel
- In a screenshot showing theGreen Emblem,Luigi (Knight) is shown driving a pink gold Pipe Frame instead of a silver one;
- In thescreenshot used forNew York Minute'sCoin Rush mode,Gold Mario uses the Pipe Frame, but it is equipped with the Gold Tires instead of its regular tires, making it resemble the Gold Pipe Frame; however, Gold Mario uses theGold Standard in-game.
Color schemes[edit]
| Body color | Character(s) | Body color | Character(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Red |                          |  Green |                       | |
 Pink |                           |  Lime green |           | |
 Yellow |                          |  Orange |              | |
 Blue |                      |  Teal |        | |
 Cyan |                     |  Purple |              | |
 Indigo |           |  Magenta |        | |
 Gray |         |  White |                   | |
 Black |          |  Brown |                | |
 Silver[A] |     |  Gold[A] |              | |
 Pink gold[A] |  |
Mario Kart World[edit]
The Pipe Frame returns inMario Kart World, with its original tires from the first three games just like inMario Kart Tour, as depicted in the games' artworks and renders. Like inMario Kart 8, it shares its engine sound with the game'sStandard Kart.
Some characters have different Pipe Frame colors compared to what they had in previous games. For example,Wario's is yellow instead of the usual purple, whileDonkey Kong's is brown rather than yellow. All seven original drivers fromSuper Mario Kart (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Bowser and Koopa Troopa), retain the same colors.
This kart is randomly used by the CPU-controlledPara-Biddybud,Nabbit,Koopa Troopa (Work Crew),Baby Mario (Work Crew), andBaby Luigi (Work Crew).
Color schemes[edit]
| Body color | Character(s) | Body color | Character(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Red |        |  Green |     | |
 Pink |     |  Orange |       | |
 Lime green |   |  Blue |      | |
 Yellow |        |  Purple |     | |
 Turquoise |     |  Cyan |     | |
 Gray |    |  Black |      | |
 Brown |    |
Club Nintendo[edit]
In theClub Nintendo comic "Die Jagd nach dem Nintendo 64: Krawall im All", Mario andLuigi are seen driving karts in their mission to find a spaceship shaped like theNintendo 64. They compete againstWario andBowser and make another reference to theMario Kart games by droppingBanana Peels and making them crash. The karts seen in this comic resemble those seen inMario Kart 64. Unlike their video game equivalents, though, they can also be turned into jet skis by pushing a button on their steering-wheels.
Mario Kirby Meisaku Video[edit]
A go-kart makes an appearance resembling the one inSuper Mario Kart in the Mario segment of theMario Kirby Meisaku Video where Mario drives it during his pursuit of the mysterious thiefW. Eventually, after being attacked by some monsters, he spins out near a vegetable garden.
Super Mario-kun[edit]
Go-karts are seen in theMario Kart adaptions ofSuper Mario-kun. The first time they appear,Mario races against other characters includingDonkey Kong Jr. andBowser.
Mario Artist: Paint Studio[edit]
VariousMario Kart 64 artwork can be used like a stamp inMario Artist: Paint Studio. This includes all the characters driving their respective go-karts, and two stand-alone images of Mario's red go-kart itself.
Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
A go-kart appears inSuper Smash Bros. Melee as atrophy under the name "Racing Kart." The trophy can be obtained at random in the Lottery or in the game's single-player modes.
Super Nintendo World[edit]
InMario Kart: Bowser's Challenge atSuper Nintendo World, all of the Koopalings use this kart during the ride.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]
The Pipe Frame is one of several karts used byBowser's army during their ambush onRainbow Road inThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. Mario hijacks one from aKoopa Troopa after theBullet Bills from theKoopa General's bulldozer-like kart destroy hisStandard Kart, though it too is destroyed by the General's vehicle.
Profiles and statistics[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
| Trophy Racing Kart | ||
 | ||
| Game/move: Super Mario Kart 9/92 | ||
| How to unlock: Random | ||
| 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. | ||
Mario Kart series[edit]
Stat values are out of 6.
Mario Kart 7
| Mario Kart 8
| Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
|
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
| Special skill |  Slipstream Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Favorite courses (Bonus points ×2) |
| |
| Favored courses (Bonus points ×1.5) | ||
* indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 3. ** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 6. | ||
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Pipe Frame.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | スケルトン[1] Sukeruton | Skeleton | |
| Chinese(Simplified) | 管架车[1] Guǎnjià Chē | Pipe Frame Kart | |
| Chinese(Traditional) | 管架車[1] Guǎnjià Chē | Pipe Frame Kart | |
| Dutch | Skelter[2] | Go-kart | |
| French | Rétro[2][3] | Retro | |
| German | Go-Kart[1] | - | |
| Italian | Tuboturbo[1] | Pipe Turbo | |
| Korean | 스켈레톤[1] Seukelleton | Skeleton | |
| Polish | Pomykart[4] | Portmanteau betweenpomykać ("to zip") and "kart" | |
| Portuguese(Brazilian) | Canoturbo[5] | Pipe Turbo | Mario Kart World |
| Tuboturbo[1] | Mario Kart Tour | ||
| Portuguese(European) | Canoturbo[5] | Pipe Turbo | Mario Kart World |
| Tubomóvel[2] | Pipemobile | Mario Kart 7 andMario Kart 8 | |
| Russian | Труботурбо[2] Truboturbo | Pipe Turbo | |
| Spanish | Tubiturbo[1] | Turbo Pipe |
References[edit]
- ^abcdefghPolley001.Mario Kart Tour Text Dump.Google Sheets. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
- ^abcdIn-game name inMario Kart 8 Deluxe.
- ^Mario Kart World in-game name from French localization. (Archived 5 Jun. 2025 via YouTube by Siphano.)
- ^ In-game name.Mario Kart World (Ver. 1.5.0). Nintendo. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
- ^abIn-game name inMario Kart World.
