Tour Amsterdam Drift

Amsterdam Drift is a race course in Mario Kart Tour. It is named after and inspired by Amsterdam, the. Like with a majority of the game's other city courses, this course has three routes: Amsterdam Drift, Amsterdam Drift 2, and Amsterdam Drift 3. The first route debuted in the city's namesake tour, the Amsterdam Tour, the second route debuted in the Metropolitan Tour, and the third route debuted in the November–December 2022 Peach vs. Bowser Tour. The first route takes players through the and the streets of central Amsterdam, the second route takes players into the, and the third route takes racers through the  tulip fields and some parts of central Amsterdam. Amsterdam Drift is the only city course to have all three of its routes released in the same year. Additionally, the first route starts in the opposite direction compared to the other two.

Portions of this course are set underwater in the canals of Amsterdam, making this the only city course so far with mandatory underwater driving, and the third city course with underwater driving altogether, after Los Angeles Laps and Singapore Speedway.

The first route is a favorite of Luigi (Golf), Mario (Aviator), Rosalina (Volendam), Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES), and the Nabbit and Pastry Chef Mii Racing Suits. The second route is a favorite of Toadette (Explorer), Baby Mario (Koala), Penguin Mario, Penguin Toadette, Rosalina (Volendam), Daisy (Farmer), Rosalina (Chef), Petey Piranha, and the Gold Mii Racing Suit. The third route is a favorite of Peach (Vacation), Yoshi (Egg Hunt), Mario (Tuxedo), Luigi (Painter), Rosalina (Volendam), Toadette (Sailor), and the Toad, White, and Rocky Wrench Mii Racing Suits.

Amsterdam Drift appears as the first course of the Fruit Cup in the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Amsterdam Drift
In the standard layout, the racers start the course on street, in between the  and, while they head towards  before making a right turn. After that, the racers make a left turn while they pass the, followed by going underneath the and through the. The racers then glide over a river acting as both the in Amsterdam and the  at the Zaanse Schans, in between the mills  and  while avoiding their sails. They then make their way to a dirt road with Monty Moles (Goombas in the T variant) and a shortcut ramp. Houses and windmills resembling those found on the appear in the background of the area. The course eventually leads to a Dash Panel, making the racers jump onto a ferry. This is followed by another jump from the ferry onto the paved road again. The racers then go down the street, which leads right behind the Royal Palace, along with  and the Former Amsterdam Main Post Office (currently a shopping mall known as ). There, there is a moving tram which drivers can run into for a Jump Boost. The road makes a gradual left, transitioning into the street and going past Gebouw Industria, before leading to the finish line. In the T and R/T variants and the Do Jump Boosts bonus challenge of the course, the player can go underwater in some parts of the course.

The course also appears as Amsterdam Drift R (reverse), Amsterdam Drift T (with ramps), and Amsterdam Drift R/T (reverse and with ramps).

Amsterdam Drift 2
In the standard layout, the racers start the course on street, in between the  and, but unlike the first Amsterdam Drift, racers now head away from , where they then take a slight right turn before heading into the  of the city. Racers take a sharp left turn in the canals and maneuver in between many warp pipes with currents coming out of them. A serpentine turn is taken before heading to a straightaway. Here, there is a fork in the road where players can either go straight ahead then take a 90 degree left turn, or immediately take a 90 degree left turn then take a right turn after. If going straight, racers can choose to use an air current to briefly jump out of the water onto a boat in the canal before driving back in. When both routes meet up again, they lead to a ramp that leads out of the canal again, and back to the surface outside the Amsterdam Centraal Station. One final left turn is taken before reaching the finishing line.

The course also appears as Amsterdam Drift 2R (reverse), Amsterdam Drift 2T (with ramps), and Amsterdam Drift 2R/T (reverse and with ramps).

The release of this layout marks the shortest period of time between the release of two different routes, debuting less than two months after the first.

Amsterdam Drift 3
This route begins in the same place as the other routes, on, only facing away from the , like with Amsterdam Drift 2. Racers take a slight right before entering a. Instead of going left like they would on Amsterdam Drift 2, racers go straight ahead to continue through the canal before turning left and coming out in the tulip fields. Racers avoid Piranha Plants while serpentining through the field before driving through the. Racers take a sharp right in front of the before taking an even sharper left to re-enter the streets of central Amsterdam. Racers drive past the, then come across a moving tram which can give a Jump Boost if driven into (like the first route for the city), before taking two last 90 degree left turns to the finish line.

The course also appears as Amsterdam Drift 3R (reverse), Amsterdam Drift 3T (with ramps), and Amsterdam Drift 3R/T (reverse and with ramps).

In the R variant, goats appear in the Keukenhof section in place of Piranha Plants, while in the T variant, Monty Moles appear instead. Amsterdam Drift 3 is the only city course route so far to debut in a Team Rally.

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of Amsterdam Drift tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Amsterdam Drift returns in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of Wave 4 of the Booster Course Pass, where it appears as the first course of the Fruit Cup. It is an expanded and combined version of the three routes for the course in Mario Kart Tour, and has received significant visual upgrades compared to how it appeared originally. A jaw harp has been added to the course's music. The section is much more saturated than before, and is now a vibrant blue hue when underwater. The water itself is also more transparent when viewed from the surface. The boat above the canals now faces the opposite direction to accommodate for the route now being done backwards.

The course begins with the first route for the course, with racers starting on the street, driving past the  and the  before turning left and gliding to the. Racers pass the windmills before eventually turning back into the city, passing a tram as they do. After a sharp left turn they reach lap 2, which is based on Amsterdam Drift 2R. The fork in the canal now only uses the road that goes straight ahead, leaving the other way blocked off, presumably due to the route being done in reverse, however racers can still access a boat located atop the canal. Racers maneuver in between the warp pipes with currents before coming out of the water and reaching lap 3. The final lap begins with Amsterdam Drift 3R; racers turn right twice and pass another tram, before following a road connecting the first and third routes (that is unused in Tour). Racers are then lead to Amsterdam Drift 3, facing the route's regular direction, as they enter the canals again. Players come out at the tulip fields, avoiding Piranha Plants until they drive under the  and the. After a few sharp turns, racers finally reach the finishing line. Amsterdam Drift is the fourth city course to utilize roads that are unused in Mario Kart Tour at the time of their addition to 8 Deluxe, and also the fourth city course to be partially based on an R variant of a route from Mario Kart Tour.

Amsterdam Drift is one of three courses from Mario Kart Tour to appear in the fourth wave, alongside and. It is the only one that is not in the Boomerang Cup.

Trivia

 * Prior to its reveal for both Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart Tour, Amsterdam Drift was among the courses featured in an for the Booster Course Pass located within Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's data in version 2.0.0.