Half-pipe (object)

A half-pipe (also known as a halfpipe-style boost ramp) is a structure signaled by vertical dash panels  (also known as half-pipe boost pads) that appears in the Mario Kart series, starting with Mario Kart Wii. It allows players to jump off the side of a course and perform a Jump Boost to gain a speed boost upon landing. Its panels are cyan, blue, and purple with scrolling white arrows on them and stripes across them, resembling those of a Glide Ramp, and despite the half-pipes' former North American name, they have only a signaling function, not giving any speed boost when touched. Said speed boost rather happens when the player lands after the jump, regardless of whether the vehicle landed on the half-pipe or not. Half-pipes may sometimes cause the player to be sent backwards.

Mario Kart Wii
Half-pipes are introduced in Mario Kart Wii, where they are known in North America as halfpipe-style boost ramps. The ramps appear in the Wii courses DK Summit, Wario's Gold Mine, Koopa Cape, Maple Treeway, Dry Dry Ruins, Bowser's Castle, and Rainbow Road. The retro courses and  were updated with the addition of half-pipes. These ramps are also included in the battle stages Funky Stadium and Chain Chomp Wheel. When a player jumps, it is possible to perform a trick to receive a longer speed boost. The trick performed is the same one that is performed when the player jumps off a Dash Panel.

Mario Kart Tour
After being absent from Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, half-pipes return in Mario Kart Tour, first appearing on Wii Maple Treeway and later appearing on Wii DK Summit, Wii Koopa Cape, N64 Yoshi Valley, and GCN DK Mountain. In this game, their mechanics are slightly altered, in that the Jump Boost is automatically performed as soon as the vertical jump starts, but if the jump is high enough, a second trick, named special trick, is performed. When this happens, the speed boost received upon landing is longer.

A different type of half-pipe, known as a super half-pipe, is introduced on Merry Mountain, and it differs from a normal half-pipe because of its magenta color. It leads to a longer boost upon landing without the need of a special trick, which cannot be performed when a player jumps from a super half-pipe. The super half-pipe also has a unique sound effect.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, half-pipes make a return in tracks added in the Booster Course Pass DLC. A blue half-pipe appears on Merry Mountain, in place of the super half-pipe present in the Mario Kart Tour rendition, and Wii Maple Treeway's half-pipe also returns from Wii and Tour. In this game, blue half-pipes use the same design as Antigravity Panels, although they appear to have no effect on a kart's anti-gravity properties.