Blue Falcon

The Blue Falcon is a kart in the Mario Kart series modeled after the vehicle of the same name used by Captain Falcon in the F-Zero series. In Mario Kart Wii, the Blue Falcon is based on its design from F-Zero X and F-Zero GX, while in Mario Kart 8, it is based on its design from the original F-Zero. In Mario Kart Wii, the coloring of Baby Mario's Blue Falcon is the same as its namesake and the emblem is located on the hood, two tailfins, and rear. The kart bears less resemblance to the vehicle it is based on in Mario Kart Wii, having four wheels and a battery at the bottom. Its depiction in Mario Kart 8 is more accurate; it now emits flames, which changes color during a mini-turbo drift, instead of exhaust smoke. In Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the emblem is located on the sides of the kart.

Mario Kart Wii
The Blue Falcon is an unlockable small vehicle, unlocked by winning the Lightning Cup in Mirror Mode or by playing 4,200 races. Its stats emphasize top speed and trades off other stats, similar to vehicles in other weight classes such as the heavyweight Jetsetter and the mediumweight Sprinter, but not as polarizing. It is the fastest small vehicle in the game, with its top speed being equivalent to the Flame Runner's. However, the vehicle is rather light and has average drifting and acceleration, but its other stats are rather low. In fact, the Blue Falcon is the only small vehicle to have a Mini-Turbo lower than thirty, unless driven by Baby Daisy, Koopa Troopa, Dry Bones, or the Mii based on their Mini-Turbo bonuses. Its weight is tied with the Standard Kart S. Its acceleration is tied with the Super Blooper. The Blue Falcon's off-road is rather poor; it has the worst off-road performance, handling, and Mini-Turbo out of all small vehicles. Its off-road is tied with the Honeycoupe, the Wild Wing, and the Sneakster. The Blue Falcon also has the lowest stat total out of any small vehicle in the game, having 249 stat points.

The Blue Falcon is one of the six vehicles in Mario Kart Wii to not have a counterpart for its size class, with the other five vehicles being the Classic Dragster, Jet Bubble, Piranha Prowler, Phantom, and Zip Zip.

Although it is called the Blue Falcon, most characters driving this vehicle have non-blue color schemes; for example, Baby Luigi has a green Blue Falcon. If Baby Luigi or Baby Daisy ride the Blue Falcon, it will surpass the Sprinter's, Flame Flyer and Sneakster's, and Flame Runner's default speed by one point, three points, and five points respectively. Also, if Toadette rides the Blue Falcon, it will surpass the Piranha Prowler's and Bullet Bike's default off-road stat by one point.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
The Blue Falcon returns in Mario Kart 8 as one of the vehicles included in The Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8 downloadable content pack, as well as one of the three retro vehicle bodies to return in the game along with the B Dasher and Pipe Frame. The model is redesigned to look like the original Blue Falcon from F-Zero for the SNES, complete with flames coming out from the exhaust pipes and an engine noise mimicking that of its original counterpart, and it no longer changes color depending on which character is using it. The tailfins also move when the kart turns. It can also be used by a character of any weight class, as opposed to being exclusive to lightweight characters. Its engine sound is actually a deeper pitched version of the Jet Bike's, which is a ducted jet engine. The exhaust flames change color when performing a Mini-Turbo. CPUs never use the Blue Falcon, thus making this kart a player-exclusive kart.

In terms of its stats, the Blue Falcon's stat distribution is similar to that of the Soda Jet from Mario Kart 7; it gives a high boost in speed and acceleration as well as an average Mini-Turbo, at the cost of some weight and traction. Also, the Blue Falcon's stats are shared with the Streetle, which is available in the Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 DLC pack.

It is one of the several vehicles in Mario Kart 8 to have a supercharged engine, the others being the Mach 8, Sports Coupe, Circuit Special, B Dasher, Badwagon, P-Wing, Comet, and Jet Bike.

A Stamp of the Blue Falcon became available in Version 4.0 of Mario Kart 8, which was released on April 23, 2015.

In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it can be unlocked randomly by collecting coins and now shares stats with the Splat Buggy. It provides a higher boost to traction, anti-gravity handling, and water handling, while reducing water speed, air speed, acceleration, weight, ground handling, and air handling. CPUs will never use this vehicle body, making it among the few player-exclusive vehicle parts in the game.

Trivia

 * Though it never appeared in the game, the Mario Kart 8 version of the Blue Falcon had specific files relating to it within Mario Kart Tour, with the specific codename BFalcon8.
 * The color scheme of Baby Luigi, Toadette and Dry Bones' Blue Falcons resemble the namesake vehicle's alternate colors in F-Zero X.

Blue Falcon