Series: Mario Kart
Company: Mattel
Year: 2019+
Size: +/-6cm
Main distribution: Worldwide
Hot Wheels have a Mario Kart line running since 2019 featuring a variety of Super Mario characters in a variety of karts. These come in several packaging; singles, with gliders, 4-packs, 8-packs, blind boxes etc.
Many different characters and vehicles combinations have been released now, but I’m only interested in the Pipe Frame karts, released from 2021 onwards. Specifically the 8 characters from the SNES. So you’ll only find those here. These are designed by Chris Colangelo.
A couple of Pipe Frame karts are currently out; Diddy Kong, Green Yoshi, Orange Yoshi, Luigi, Mario and Baby Peach. The Pipe Frame was the first Hot Wheels with Diddy Kong in the vehicle, and is currently the only Hot Wheels with Baby Peach in the vehicle.
Yoshi
Release: 2021
Barcode: 887961908350
Designer: Chris Colangelo
Yoshi sits in a green Pipe Frame kart. It has Mario Kart Hub wheels; the black rubber has Mario Motors on it, and the rims are silver coloured. The steering wheel is also the same colour as his hands, like the other Hot Wheels.
The kart design seems to be based on the Mario Kart 8 Retro Kart, judging by the circular icon at the front. Yoshi has the Yoshi Egg logo on it.
The branding is on the bottom of the vehicle. It reads in raised font: Hot Wheels logo, Pipe Frame © Nintendo, © 2020 Mattel 1186 MJ, 1, NL, GRN15 Thailand. It also has a black printed N51 on it.
Interestingly this particular design was released in 2021, but the branding on the bottom of the kart states 2020. Perhaps Covid-19 slowed the release down?
Diddy Kong
Release: 2021
Barcode: 887961908374
Designer: Chris Colangelo
Diddy Kong sits in a yellow Pipe Frame kart. Sadly, Diddy Kong does not have a tail. It has different wheels from Yoshi; black rubber with golden coloured rims. The steering wheel is also the same colour as his hands, like the other Hot Wheels.
The kart design seems to be based on the Mario Kart 8 Retro Kart, judging by the circular icon at the front. Diddy Kong was also not an available character in Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64 nor Mario Kart Circuit where the Pipe Frame kart is originally from. Diddy has his shirt design on it, red with 2 yellow stars.
The branding is on the bottom of the vehicle. It reads in raised font: Hot Wheels logo, Pipe Frame © Nintendo, © 2020 Mattel 1186 MJ, 1, NL, GRN15 Thailand. It also has a black printed N48 on it.
Interestingly this particular design was released in 2021, but the branding on the bottom of the kart states 2020. Perhaps Covid-19 slowed the release down?
The back of the packaging shows the other figures / karts in this wave.
It has ©2019 when the Mario Kart Hot Wheels line begun, as well as © 2021 when this particular wave was released.
Mario
Release: 2022
Barcode: 194735018994
Designer: Chris Colangelo
Mario sits in a red Pipe Frame kart. It has Mario Kart 4S grey wheels; blue rubber with silver rims. The steering wheel is also the same colour as his hands, like the other Hot Wheels.
The kart design seems to be based on the Mario Kart 8 Retro Kart, judging by the circular icon at the front. Mario has the red M logo on it.
The branding is on the bottom of the vehicle. It reads in raised font: Hot Wheels logo, Pipe Frame © Nintendo, © 2020 Mattel 1186 MJ, 1, NL, GRN15 Thailand. It also has a black printed R34 on it.
Despite this one coming out in 2022, the kart states 2020, so I’m guessing it’s based on the kart design release.
The back of the packaging shows the other figures / karts in this wave.
It has ©2019 when the Mario Kart Hot Wheels line begun, as well as © 2022 when this particular wave was released.
I love the Super Nintendo / Super Famicom and merchandise that goes with it. Mario Kart was a favourable game in our household, but I never owned old merchandise of it. And when Hot Wheels was doing a Mario Kart line, I was secretly hoping they would do the old karts. Although I was expecting they would stick to the modern versions, with all the different vehicles, wheels and characters which they can endlessly combine, it was a pleasant surprise the Pipe Frames came out.
Granted, they are based on their modern Mario Kart 8 version, but it’s something. And they all come with different wheels. I do hope they do all the SNES characters (although Donkey Kong Jr is probably a stretch, and Koopa will look like his modern counterpart), or the Mario Kart 64 / Mario Kart Circuit characters.
Diddy Kong is not one of these characters, but when I found him (and he seems to be popular since it’s his debut to the series) I decided to get him anyway (I guess he can stand in for Donkey Kong Jr).
I left them in the packaging, as I’m still not sure if I’ll keep them or sell / trade in the future. It depends if the full lineup of 8 SNES characters gets made. Luigi is out, but only in a 4-pack and I don’t feel like spending that much on 1 kart, so I hope he comes in a single pack soon too. Baby Peach is also out, so I hope a Peach gets made soon too. I know I could make them custom myself by swapping characters from karts, but I’m really hoping an official release gets made. So let’s see what the future brings.
If you like die-cast cars, Hot Wheels or Mario Kart, you’ll love these. If you prefer the older designs, you may be on the fence about these.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own any Mario Kart Hot Wheels? Which one is your fav? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!