Pipe Frame

The Pipe Frame is a vehicle used in Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and a customizable kart frame in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8. Throughout the various Mario Kart games it appears in, the Pipe Frame changes color depending on the character driving in it. In the first three installments of the Mario Kart series, the Pipe Frame acts as the one and only kart. The abilities of the kart depend on the driver so the kart itself has no strong or weak points. After a 10-year absence, the Pipe Frame returns in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, as an unlockable kart body in both and generally gave a boost in acceleration and speed while decreasing the weight.

In all games it appears, the Pipe Frame resembles a typical compact go-kart commonly used for amusement parks and indoor kart rental venues.

Mario Kart 7
The Pipe Frame appears in Mario Kart 7 as a retro kart body. It has the Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit design with dual exhaust pipes, similar to the Standard Kart. In this game the kart offers a good boost in acceleration and off-road, but hinders speed and weight. The Pipe Frame is one of the three kart parts to have a different color for each character. The original racers Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Toad, and Wario retain the same colored kart from Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit.

Mario Kart 8
The Pipe Frame returns in Mario Kart 8 as a retro kart body, reverted to the Super Mario Kart design featuring a transversed engine with single exhaust pipe, rather than a longitudinal engine with dual exhaust pipes used in Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit. It also contains a small circular plate of metal on the front, which displays the current character's emblem.

Unlike past installments, the colors of the Pipe Frame are now shared with multiple characters, featuring 23 unique colors used between the 36 characters (and of those, thirteen of the colors are exclusive to one character, counting alternate colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy, but excluding Miis). The eight main characters from Mario Kart 64, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, retain the same color as they were in the original games, while Koopa Troopa retains its colored kart from Super Mario Kart.

In addition, all the Koopalings (except for Morton) have unique colored steering wheels for their karts, as opposed to the standard black for the secondary color. Also, all the Koopalings have unique colored exhaust systems, as opposed to the standard gold for the tertiary color, and their wheel hinges are uniquely colored, instead of being colored gray.

The Pipe Frame gives a good boost in acceleration and handling, but hinders weight and traction. Its stats are identical to those of the Wild Wiggler, Standard Bike, Flame Rider, Varmint, W 25 Silver Arrow, and City Tripper. The engine sound is also shared with the Standard Kart, Teddy Buggy, Wild Wiggler, and the Sneeker having a deeper sounding version.

Like the Standard Kart, Standard Bike, and Standard ATV, the Pipe Frame body is occasionally used by all the CPU-controlled characters. Most CPU players will always pair the Pipe Frame with the Standard tires, but a few may use the Monster tires instead.

Stats
Stat values are out of 6.

Mario Kart 7

 * Speed: -0.25
 * Sea Speed: +1
 * Air Speed: +0.5
 * Acceleration: +0.25
 * Weight: -0.25
 * Handling: 0
 * Sea Handling: +0.25
 * Air Handling: +0.25
 * Off-Road: +0.25
 * Mini-Turbo: +0.5
 * Stability: 0
 * Drift: +0.25

Mario Kart 8

 * Ground Speed: 0
 * Water Speed: +0.25
 * Air Speed: +0.25
 * Anti-Gravity Speed: -0.25
 * Acceleration: +0.25
 * Weight: -0.25
 * Ground Handling: +0.5
 * Water Handling: +0.5
 * Air Handling: +0.5
 * Anti-Gravity Handling: +0.25
 * Traction: -0.5
 * Mini-Turbo: +0.25

"Die Jagd nach dem Nintendo 64: Krawall im All"
In the Club Nintendo comic "Die Jagd nach dem Nintendo 64: Krawall im All", Mario and Luigi are seen driving karts in their mission to find a spaceship shaped like the Nintendo 64. They compete against Wario and Bowser and make another reference to the Mario Kart games by dropping Banana Peels and making them crash. The karts seen in this comic resemble those seen in the then-new Mario Kart 64. Unlike their video game equivalents, though, they can also be turned into jet skis by pushing a button on their steering-wheels.

Mario Kirby Meisaku Video
A Pipe Frame makes an apperance resembling the one in Super Mario Kart in the Mario segment of the Mario Kirby Meisaku Video where Mario drives it during his pursuit of the mysterious thief W. Eventually, after being attacked by some monsters, he spins out near a vegetable garden.

Super Mario-Kun
Pipe Frame karts are seen in the Mario Kart adaptions of Super Mario-Kun. The first time they appear, Mario races against other characters including Donkey Kong Jr. and Bowser.

Trivia

 * In Mario Kart 7, white is the only Mii color to receive a unique Pipe Frame color, as no other character uses a white Pipe Frame.
 * In Mario Kart 8, this trait instead applies to the color brown, unless the alternate Yoshi and Shy Guy colors are not downloaded; in that case white remains an exclusive to Miis.
 * In Mario Kart 7, it has a similar engine sound as the Standard Kart from Mario Kart DS.
 * In Mario Kart 8, Morton Koopa Jr. is the only Koopaling who uses a black steering wheel instead of a rainbow-colored one.