Lightning Cup
TheLightning Cup (referred to as theThunder Cup inMario Power Tennis and in the instruction manuals forMario Kart: Super Circuit andMario Kart 7) is acup in theMario Kart series, as well asMario Power Tennis. Its first appearance is inMario Kart: Super Circuit, in which it is placed between theFlower Cup andStar Cup, appearing as the third cup of that game. It is absent inMario Kart: Double Dash!!, but has since appeared in mostMario Kart titles sinceMario Kart DS, usually as the eighth and final cup, most frequently exclusively featuring classiccourses as the fourth and last retro cup overall. InMario Kart 8 andMario Kart 8 Deluxe, it is the eighth cup overall; however, due to the four DLC cups (theEgg Cup, theTriforce Cup, theCrossing Cup, and theBell Cup) taking place after the Lightning Cup, the Bell Cup is actually the last cup overall inMario Kart 8, and inMario Kart 8 Deluxe, theSpiny Cup is actually the last cup overall due to theBooster Course Pass. InMario Kart World, it is the seventh cup in the game and is mostly set within the dark meadows along the northwest of the game's world map. It also features a single new course.
It typically features courses from theStar Cup and theSpecial Cup. Outside ofMario Kart World, the length and difficulty of the courses in this cup tend to be on par with those in theSpecial Cup. BothMario Kart 7 andMario Kart 8 finish the Lightning Cup with aRainbow Road from a past game, akin to the Special Cup's last course being a new Rainbow Road. As the name suggests, the emblem of the cup isLightning. In Knockout Tour inMario Kart World, it is mirrored by theCloud Rally.
List of courses[edit]
Completion rewards in theMario Kart series[edit]
Winning the Lightning Cup in theMario Kart series can award the player with various bonuses, depending on the game. Additional cups unlocked are excluded from this list.
Mario Kart DS[edit]
- All retro cups (includes Lightning Cup) on 50cc:Daisy
- All retro cups (includes Lightning Cup) on 100cc:Waluigi
- All retro cups (includes Lightning Cup) or all nitro cups (excludes Lightning Cup) on 150cc: Seven karts for each playable character
- All cups on 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
- All retro cups (includes Lightning Cup) or all nitro cups (excludes Lightning Cup) on 150cc Mirror:R.O.B.
- All cups on 150cc Mirror: All karts for each playable character
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
- 50cc Lightning Cup:Diddy Kong
- 1 star rank or higher on all retro cups (includes Lightning Cup) on 50cc:Cheep Charger
- 100cc Lightning Cup:Zip Zip
- 1 star rank or higher on all retro cups (includes Lightning Cup) on 100cc:Bowser Jr.
- 150cc Lightning Cup:Honeycoupe
- 1 star rank or higher on all retro cups (includes Lightning Cup) on 150cc:Jetsetter
- All cups on 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
- Mirror Lightning Cup:Blue Falcon
- 1 star rank or higher on all cups on 150cc Mirror:Rosalina
Mario Kart 7[edit]
- All cups on a single engine class:Mii
- 150cc Lightning Cup:Lakitu
- All cups on 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
Mario Kart 8[edit]
Most unlockable characters inMario Kart 8 are unlocked at random upon winning Grand Prix cups (separate cups must be played to unlock characters), which includes the Lightning Cup. Characters that can be unlocked include Rosalina,Metal Mario,Lakitu,Toadette,Baby Rosalina,Pink Gold Peach,Iggy Koopa,Roy Koopa,Lemmy Koopa,Larry Koopa,Wendy O. Koopa,Ludwig von Koopa,Morton Koopa Jr., and Mii. Mii is unlocked upon the eighth Grand Prix cup victory, unless anamiibo is used to unlock Mii beforehand.
In addition, theGold Standard body can be unlocked by getting a 1 star rank or higher on all non-DLC cups (including the Lightning Cup) on any one engine class, and the 150cc Mirror class can be unlocked by winning all 150cc cups.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
- 1 star rank or higher on all base game cups on 150cc Mirror: Gold Standard
- All base game cups on 200cc:Gold Mario
Mario Kart World[edit]
- Lightning Cup on any engine class: Bowser Jr.
Profiles[edit]
- Mario Kart Wii trading card:"You'll be glad to see that all four tracks in the Lightning Cup have made a big comeback! All feature updated graphics and all the fun you can handle. And two of them,GCN DK Mountain andN64 Bowser's Castle, offer up all the challenge you can handle!"
Gallery[edit]
Emblems[edit]
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (Extra)
Mario Power Tennis
Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart 8 /Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart 8 /Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Mario Kart World
Trophies[edit]
Mario Kart World (silver)
Other[edit]
The full map of the Lightning Cup tracks inMario Kart World
The map of the Lightning Cup tracks inMario Kart World with each individual race colored separately
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Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | サンダーカップ[1] Sandā Kappu | Thunder Cup | |
| Chinese(Simplified) | 闪电杯[?] Shǎndiàn Bēi | Lightning Cup | |
| Chinese(Traditional) | 閃電盃[?] Shǎndiàn Bēi | Lightning Cup | |
| Dutch | Bliksembeker[?] | Lightning Cup | |
| French | Coupe Éclair[2] | Lightning Cup | |
| German | Blitz-Cup[3] | Lightning Cup | |
| Italian | Trofeo Fulmine[4] | Lightning Trophy | |
| Coppa tuono[?] | Thunder Cup | Mario Kart: Super Circuit European instruction booklet | |
| Trofeo Tuono[?] | Thunder Trophy | Mario Power Tennis | |
| Korean | 번개 컵[5] Beongae Keop | Lightning Cup | |
| Polish | Puchar Burzowy[6] | Storm Cup | |
| Portuguese(Brazilian) | Copa Relâmpago[?] | Lightning Cup | |
| Portuguese(European) | Taça Relâmpago[?] | Lightning Cup | |
| Russian | Кубок молнии[?] Kubok molnii | Lightning Cup | |
| Spanish | Copa Centella[7][8] | Spark Cup | |
| Copa Trueno[?] | Thunder Cup | Mario Kart: Super Circuit European instruction booklet |
Notes[edit]
- The Lightning Cup is the only cup inMario Kart: Super Circuit to not feature aBowser's Castle course.
- Excluding cups introduced as DLC,Mario Kart 7's Lightning Cup is the only retro cup in the series not to have at least one course fromMario Kart 64, and the only Lightning Cup to feature multiple courses from theSpecial Cup.
- The Lightning Cup fromMario Kart: Super Circuit is one of three cups in the series to have all its courses return together in anotherMario Kart game, as all of its tracks reappear inMario Kart Tour. The other two cups are theStar Cup fromMario Kart Wii, which has all of its courses available inMario Kart 8 Deluxe as a result of theBooster Course Pass, and theMushroom Cup fromMario Kart 7, which also has all of its courses return inMario Kart Tour.
- Additionally, its courses were added toMario Kart Tour in reverse chronological order compared to the original cup. Sunset Wilds debuted in 2020'sSunset Tour, Cheep-Cheep Island debuted in the2021 Summer Tour, Sky Garden debuted in 2022'sSky Tour, and Luigi Circuit debuted in the2023 Mario vs. Luigi Tour. This situation also applies to the Star Cup fromWii.
References[edit]
- ^【DS】マリオカートDS 実況プレイ！ めざせ全カップ優勝！編【生放送】
- ^Mario Kart World in-game name from French localization (Uploaded 5 Jun. 2025 onYouTube by Siphano)
- ^Let's Play Mario Kart DS [Grand Prix / 150 ccm / Deutsch] (Part 7): Blitz-Cup!
- ^Mario Kart DS nel 2025 è un trip nostalgico
- ^마리오 카트 DS #1 : 추억의 마리오 카트 달려보자!
- ^In-game name.Mario Kart World (Ver. 1.5.0). Nintendo. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
- ^Nintendúo.Jugamos la VERSIÓN FINAL de MARIO KART WORLD (4:40).YouTube (European Spanish). Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^BRCDEvg.Estrenando juntos MARIO KART WORLD (17:24).YouTube (Latin American Spanish). Retrieved June 5, 2025.
