Mario Kart Tour Madrid Drive Madrid Drive 2 Madrid Drive 3 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Staff ghost(s)
8DX 150cc
Nin★Aracel
2:10.689
8DX 200cc
Nin★Fausti
1:33.156
Madrid Drive is a race course in Mario Kart Tour. It is named after and inspired by the city of Madrid, Spain. It is the fourteenth and last real world city course added to the game. The course takes racers through many landmarks of the city such as the Puerta del Sol and the Puerta de Alcalá. The course has three routes, Madrid Drive, Madrid Drive 2, and Madrid Drive 3; the first two debuted together in the 2023 Summer Tour while the third route debuted two tours later in the 2023 Anniversary Tour - Madrid Drive is the third city course in a row to not debut in a tour named after its respective city and is also the city to have the shortest gap between separate releases of routes. The first route takes racers to the Gran Vía and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the second route features Retiro Park, Plaza Mayor, and the Market of San Miguel, and the third route features the Prado Museum and Atocha station. Additionally, the second route starts in the opposite direction compared to the other two. The course is the seventh course set in a European city. The course features Shoe Goombas playing soccer, Wigglers, and Thwomps. The fences seen across this course use the same color scheme as the ones seen in Berlin Byways, albeit in a slightly different pattern. The starting line for the course resembles the gate for the Royal Palace of Madrid.
The course's music heavily utilizes acoustic guitars and claps; reminiscing traditional Spanish flamenco music, or palo. It is the second city course after Singapore Speedway to feature an alternative version of its theme - namely, when entering the stadium in its first layout, the song is replaced with a version based on a cheering crowd (although this is absent in Coin Rush). A third version of the music is used when players enter the Prado Museum.
The city course's routes in relation to each other.
Madrid Drive
The first route for the course begins in the Puerta del Sol. After a very brief straightaway, racers progress through the Calle de Preciados, and driving beneath the Segovia Viaduct, racers take a left turn that goes round almost 270 degrees, passing the Market of San Miguel and avoiding a pair of Goombas. They then drive along the top of the viaduct towards Gran Vía, passing the streets own landmarks before heading into the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Avoiding Shoe Goombas and soccer balls, racers drive through the pitch before driving through a goal, taking them to Calle de Alcalá, taking a right turn to return to the Puerta del Sol. One last slight right bend is taken before racers reach the finish line.
The course also appears as Madrid Drive R (reversed), Madrid Drive T (with ramps), and Madrid Drive R/T (reversed with ramps). In all three variants, Shoe Goombas appear in different locations and have different behavior. In the T and R/T variants, there is a glide ramp near the Segova Viaduct, and the nearby Goombas are gone.
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which Madrid Drive and its variants are always favored or favorite courses. For instances in which additional drivers, karts, and gliders temporarily had this course and its variants as favored or favorite courses, see List of Madrid Drive tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Course
Three-item drivers
Bonus points ×2 karts
Combo bonus ×3 gliders
Two-item drivers
Bonus points ×1.5 karts
Combo bonus ×2 gliders
Normal variant
**
R variant
**
*
T variant
R/T variant
****
* indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 3. ** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 6. *** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 8 for High-End items.
The course's second route begins in the opposite direction compared to the first. Just like in the first route, players begin in Puerta del Sol, but this time head towards the Cybele Palace. Racers turn left and drive beneath the arches of the Puerta de Alcalá, using a ramp to jump over the grass that surrounds it. Soon, racers turn right and head to Retiro Park, taking a glide ramp to glide over the park's large pond, which has water geysers erupting from it. Upon landing, racers turn right to pass both the Atocha station and the Prado Museum. Racers drive past many theaters, restaurants and other facilities before entering the Plaza Mayor. Here, a pair of Wigglers circle the statue of King Philip III. Once racers exit the square, they drive towards the Market of San Miguel and avoid the pair of Thwomps inside, before coming out next to the Segovia Viaduct. Racers then drive down the road via a large right turn before entering the Calle de Preciados, before returning to Puerta del Sol, and then reaching the finish line.
The course also appears as Madrid Drive 2R (reversed), Madrid Drive 2T (with ramps), and Madrid Drive 2R/T (reversed with ramps). In all three variants, the Wigglers are gone and much more of the space in the Plaza Mayor is taken up by tables. In the R and R/T variants, Cheep Cheeps jump out of the pond in Retiro Park. In the T variant, there is a third Thwomp, found just before the arches of the Puerta de Alcalá, and the gliding section is gone. In the R/T variant, there are six Thwomps throughout the course.
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which Madrid Drive 2 and its variants are always favored or favorite courses. For instances in which additional drivers, karts, and gliders temporarily had this course and its variants as favored or favorite courses, see List of Madrid Drive 2 tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Course
Three-item drivers
Bonus points ×2 karts
Combo bonus ×3 gliders
Two-item drivers
Bonus points ×1.5 karts
Combo bonus ×2 gliders
Normal variant
*
R variant
T variant
*
R/T variant
* indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 3. ** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 6. *** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 8 for High-End items.
Madrid Drive 3
The third route begins in the same direction as the first, in Puerta del Sol. This time, after the straightaway, racers turn left onto the Calle de Cuchilleros, going upwards before descending and driving past multiple buildings, such as Cebada Market and Sobrino de Botín. After a large left turn, racers drive up some stairs to enter the Plaza Mayor, circling right around the statue of King Philip III until reaching the exit. Racers drive down a wide road until eventually turning right to go inside Atocha station. After descending a conveyor belt and taking a sharp left U-turn, racers leave the train station before immediately taking a slight right to enter the Prado Museum, which houses numerous paintings of various characters. Racers turn left in front of a Piranha Plant inside a torn painting before leaving the museum. Racers then turn right, returning to Puerta del Sol, before taking one last left turn leading to the finish line.
The course also appears as Madrid Drive 3R (reversed), Madrid Drive 3T (with ramps), and Madrid Drive 3R/T (reversed with ramps). In the R variant, there are two Piranha Plants in the Atocha station and a pair of Whomps in the Plaza Mayor. In the T variant, there is one Piranha Plant in the train station and two in the Plaza Mayor. In the R/T variant, there are Inky Piranha Plants throughout the course instead of Piranha Plants; one is in the torn painting in the museum, one is in the train station, and two are in the beds of stationary pickup trucks just before the final turn.
Madrid Drive reappears in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as part of the sixth and final wave of the Booster Course Pass DLC. It appears as the first course of the Spiny Cup, and thus functions as the final city course of the pass. It has received significant visual improvements compared to its Mario Kart Tour iteration. The first lap is based on Madrid Drive 3, the second lap is based on Madrid Drive 2R, and the third and final lap is based on the first route of Madrid Drive. This makes it the only city course in the game to have its laps traverse its Mario Kart Tour variants in reverse order, and one of three courses originally introduced in Mario Kart Tour to begin with a lap that is not the first variant, alongside Tour Berlin Byways and Piranha Plant Cove. The remaining Wiggler in Plaza Mayor now sleeps on Lap 1 before waking up during Lap 2, with the other being removed; it also faces the other direction to match the 2R route. Additionally, the smaller body of water players drove over from Tour has been covered up. The Goombas from Madrid Drive have been moved from the three-quarters turn up the overpass to the section after along the left turn. Dash Panels have been added inside the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, and the crowd now cheers when a player races through the soccer goal. The Soccer Balls kicked by the Shoe Goombas now knock out any drivers they hit. Piranha Plants have been added in the Atocha station like Madrid Drive 3R. Additional coins have been added at Retiro Park, and racers can now glide around the monument to collect them. Castanets have been added to the course's music. The minimap has also been rotated 90 degrees.
Similar to Wii Mushroom Gorge, Wii Grumble Volcano, 3DS Neo Bowser City, and 3DS DK Jungle, the stadium and museum variants of the course's music are slightly modified versions of their Mario Kart Tour counterparts. Both music renditions feature slightly more reverb in addition to other subtle modifications, such as a faintly audible new bassline in the stadium and slightly different drums in the museum.
Internally, the course is referred to as "Cnsw_51", implying it may have originally been intended to be the first course of the Feather Cup.
Some of the landmarks in this course are based on their past or future designs.
Puerta del Sol is based on its design prior to a renovation which started in 2022 before the course's release, in which the fountains, the glass metro station entrance, and the road with this course's starting line were demolished.
One of the Gate of Europe towers has a logo which resembles that of Caja Madrid, a bank that went defunct in 2010.
The design of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is based on a renovation that is, as of the course's release, yet to be completed.
A couple of Madrid's famous billboards have been changed.
In Puerta del Sol, the Tío Pepe sign is substituted by a Mario Kart sign.
**
