For years, Mario, Luigi, and many other fan-favorite characters from Super Mario Bros. have been popping up in Mattel’s Hot Wheels line. Those characters have been reimagined into Hot Wheels Character Cars and have shown up as artwork in the Hot Wheels pop culture assortments. However, despite dozens of vehicles on the market, the most obvious Mario video game to get the Hot Wheels treatment, Mario Kart, has been conspicuously absent — until now.
Thanks to a new licensing agreement between Mattel and Nintendo, the Hot Wheels Mario Kart collection is hitting stores this summer. The all-new range of die-cast vehicles and track sets will bring the long-running video game franchise to life by transforming the iconic Karts into high-performance toy vehicles. Kids are gonna dig ’em, but we think collectors and gamers will find a lot to love with these, too!
Presented in classic 1:64-scale die-cast, the Hot Wheels Mario Kart vehicles are compatible with many existing Hot Wheels sets, so you can race fan-favorite characters, such as Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, and Bowser, alongside your favorite traditional Hot Wheels vehicles. Additional characters, including Princess Peach, Koopa Troopa, and Toad, will join the line in future waves.
At launch, three game-inspired track sets will be available, including the Piranha Plant Slide Track Set, the Thwomp Ruins Track Set, and the Hot Wheels Mario Kart Circuit Track Set.
All items will be available at major retailers this summer. To launch the line, an exclusive Hot Wheels Metal Mario Kart die-cast vehicle will be offered exclusively at the Mattel booth at Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) and through the Mattel Shop as part of a massive range of SDCC exclusives.
Photos: Mattel