Hot Wheels and Nintendo bring Mario Kart to life with new toy line

If you have ever played a Nintendo gaming system, you’ve likely enjoyed a round of Mario Kart. The crazy antics, fun kart designs, and iconic characters always made it an enjoyable experience. But, until now, Mario Kart was always relegated to being played on a gaming console with a controller. Hot Wheels and Nintendo recently teamed up to release Hot Wheels Mario Kart die-cast vehicle and track sets. At launch, you’ll find Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, and Bowser along with additional characters coming soon.

Hot Wheels brings Mario Kart to life

This is a set I wish was around when I was a kid. I was always into Mario Kart, partially because I loved driving games (and cars in general), but partially because I have always been a Mario fan. The Hot Wheels that are part of this kit are 1:64th scale die-cast Mark Kart vehicles that can race, stunt, and crash on a variety of track sets.

So far, you’ll have two main course-inspired sets and a circuit track. For the course-inspired sets, Hot Wheels and Nintendo are releasing Piranha Plant Slide and Thwomp Ruins. These iconic Mario Kart tracks come to life in all new ways here.

Characters you know and love

At the initial launch, you’ll find a limited number of Mario Kart characters available, including Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, and Bowser. After launch, more characters will be added, like Princess Peach, Koopa Troopa, and Toad. We’re expecting the lineup to grow even further, but no confirmation of that is available yet. Matt Brutocao, Senior Director of Global Brand Marketing of Hot Wheels said this about the company’s latest product:

“Mario Kart and Hot Wheels are two of the most iconic brands in play, each with their own storied history and devoted fan base, so the combination of the two is something very special. Our new Hot Wheels Mario Kart line creates an exciting Mario Kart play experience, complete with fun characters, authentic details and the type of out-of-this-world racing challenges that are synonymous with Hot Wheels.”

Pricing and availability

You can order the Hot Wheel Mario Kart Mario Circuit Trackset from Target for $79.99 shipped. The smaller Thwomp Ruins and Piranha Plant Slide Tracksets go for $19.99 at Target and are available to order now.

9to5Toys’ take

I absolutely love this. Growing up playing with Hot Wheels and Mario Kart this is like a nostalgic dream come true for me. I enjoy seeing brands I grew up around still enjoyed by kids today, and can’t wait to see how this track set progresses in the future. Rainbow Road? Coconut Mall? Electrodome? No matter what, these sets are bound to be on Christmas lists this upcoming holiday season.

Subscribe to the 9to5Toys YouTube Channel for all of the latest videos, reviews, and more!