Koopa King

History:

Bowser devised his personal Kart for the 2003 Grand Prix based on his own face. He poured many resources including salvaging old tank parts from his Dark Army into creating one of the fastest and heaviest Karts on the track, a true reflection of his big bruising personality. Naturally, he named it after himself.

Double Dash:

Being a Heavy Kart, the Koopa King may only be used by any of the following drivers while paired with another racer of equal or lesser weight: Bowser, Wario, Kong, Petey Piranha, or King Boo.

The Koopa King has great speed at the expense of acceleration and Offroad, which are among the worst in the game. It is also the widest Kart, meaning it is a huge target for errant Shells, and it's difficult to dodge dropped Bananas and Fake Item Boxes. It actually has moderate Turn Speed, though, and has one of the better suspensions, due to its massive weight. It's a dastardly Kart - there are other Karts that match its impressive high speed without being absolutely terrible at everything else, such as the Green Fire or Piranha Pipes.

Bowser uses the Kart along with Bowser, Jr. in the Secret Staff Ghost Time Trials only on Bowser's Castle, because Bowser, Jr. has no Staff Ghost.

Green Fire

History:

Upon the edict that every racer would submit their own individual Kart into the 2003 Grand Prix, Luigi felt tremendous pressure to emulate the Kart of his brother, Mario. Luigi did so on the surface, but he overemphasized all of the Red Fire's specifications, nearly creating a Heavy Kart in the process. Whether or not this was a subconscious effort to side with the enemies of Mario, who were all heavyweights, is up for speculation.

Double Dash

The Green Fire is a Middle Kart, meaning that it may only be used by Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Waluigi, Yoshi, or Birdo, or by any Lightweight Driver paired with any of the above.

The Green Fire does act like a Heavy Kart, though. It has very high top speed and low acceleration, although its bounciness lies with other Middle Karts, and is actually a little lower than some like the Waluigi Racer. It has some pretty rough Turn Speed, but actually some moderately good Offroad for either a Middle or Heavy Kart. Its size is about average, meaning that while its profile won't take up the whole track, it's still not in the best shape to dodge incoming objects.

The Kart makes no appearances in any Time Trails, instead Luigi drives the Red Fire with Mario in his appearances. The Green Fire is a decent choice for anyone looking for a Middle Kart with some speed that acts like a Heavy Kart, but in general it has many flaws that prevent it from becoming an outstanding choice.

Red Fire

History:

When it was decreed that each character would be able to provide his or her own personal Vehicle for the 2003 Grand Prix, Mario quickly developed the Red Fire. Reflecting his inherent conservatism and predilection for moderation, he intended the Kart to contain neither a major advantage or disadvantage.

Double Dash:

The Red Fire is a Middle Kart, meaning that it must be used by at least one of the following racers paired with either another Middleweight or a Lightweight: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Waluigi, Yoshi, or Birdo.

As far as Middle Karts go, its stats do generally lie in the middle. It has average speed and acceleration, although atrocious Offroad and turn speed. Its suspension and width aren't great, but again are actually pretty average for Middle Karts. In relation to every available Kart, its bounciness, turn speed, Offroad, and acceleration are on the lower end while its Speed is generally good. It's really a better Kart for beginners on nice, simple tracks without a lot of craziness, Offroad, or difficult turns.

The Red Fire appears as a Secret Staff Ghost on three tracks, the most of any Kart. Mario and Luigi drive it on both the Mario Circuit and the Luigi Circuit (where Luigi takes the lead), and then Mario teams up with Peach in the Red Fire for Rainbow Road.

Pipe Frame

History:

The normal pipe frame was the standard for many renditions of the Grand Prix. It was developed as a neutral platform for every racer, with no imbalanced properties. For this reason, the aspects of the racers themselves influenced the outcomes of the first few races. Eventually the Pipe Frame gave way to increased specialization and different Karts and their parts proliferated. Upon his entry to the seventh Grand Prix, Metal Mario stole an old Pipe Frame and retrofitted it himself in an effort to mimic the past of his namesake.

Appears in:

SMK
64
Super Circuit
7

The Pipe Frame was the only available Kart until everything started getting crazy in Double Dash. For years, Mario used Red, Luigi Green, Peach Pink, Toad Blue, Bowser Orange, DK Yellow, Yoshi Light Green, Koopa Light Blue, and Wario Purple. In 7, we've associated the Kart with Metal Mario for its metallic nature. It may be used by any racer, however. It's generally a good Kart, with boosts in every stat except for Land Speed and Weight, with nothing added or subtracted from Land Handling or Stability. It works exceptionally underwater, and would be a nice pairing with the Roller or Wood tires in heavy underwater courses. For non-aquatic adventures, slap on the Slick tires to compensate for that low Land Speed.

The Pipe Frame is a popular Kart used by Staff Ghosts, appearing nine times in time trials. As far as Normals go, it's used by Bowser on GBA Bowser Castle 1, Koopa Troopa in N64 Koopa Troopa Beach, Mario in SNES Mario Circuit 2, Daisy in GCN Daisy Cruiser, and Lakitu in SNES Rainbow Road. Notably, these are all Retro Courses, fitting for this Retro Kart. On the Expert side, it's used by Shy Guy in the Shy Guy Bazaar, Peach in Wuhu Loop, Luigi in N64 Luigi Raceway, and Toad in Wii Mushroom Gorge. No other Kart besides the Standard appears so often in Time Trials.

Because the Pipe Frame is slower and lighter than the Standard, it's a little better in the hands of heavier characters rather than lighter ones. Some of these issues may be mitigated by wheels, though, and the general enhancement of nearly every other stat makes it a pretty viable option.