Bowser's Muscle Car

Bowser's Muscle Car
Bowser standing atop the car
First appearance	Super Mario 3D World (2013)
Latest appearance	Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021)

Bowser's Muscle Car is a vehicle that appears in Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. It is a purple muscle car with gold plating, spikes on the top, and hubcaps, with a Bowser hood ornament at the front. The car initially moves slowly, but it moves faster and faster when damaged and when the player catches up with it. The car is also able to jump without the driver's input.

With the exception of The Great Tower of Bowser Land, Bowser's Muscle Car is Bowser's main weapon and mode of transportation in the game. It first appears in Bowser's Highway Showdown, where Bowser rides it for the duration of his boss fight. Bowser shoots fireballs and tosses Kick Bombs from the car to attack the player, the latter of which can be kicked back to damage the car. After enough hits, the car is destroyed, and Bowser is blasted away.

The car reappears in Bowser's Lava Lake Keep, where it gets a visual upgrade, with a mostly blue color scheme and neon features. The strategy to defeat it is unchanged, and it is again wrecked. Bowser's Muscle Car makes a final appearance in the beginning of The Great Tower of Bowser Land, in its destroyed state. Players can hit it, but nothing happens other than the car making noise. The car mostly makes beep noises, but a soundclip of Bowser's laugh and some soundclips from Super Mario World can be heard after some hits.

Battle

Cat Mario kicking a bomb at Bowser

Bowser's Muscle Car appears as the boss of World 1. The battlefield consists of a long highway, which the car drives along, with the player pursuing it. Bowser tosses Kick Bombs that must be hit back at him nine times if the bombs hit the car itself or three times if the bombs strike Bowser directly (Kick Bombs can be lobbed high for this by hitting them with the Cat form's scratch attack or the Tanooki form's tail attack or by rolling into them); players can also defeat him with 27 hits from the Boomerang form's boomerangs or 45 hits from the Fire form's fireballs. As Bowser takes damage, he breathes more fireballs and throws fewer Kick Bombs. The first stretch of the highway is very basic. The only things of note are a small rise that the car and player must jump to and a small ditch cut through the road. At the end of this stretch, Bowser ramps up to the next section of the highway. The player can follow via a Warp Box dropped by Bowser. The next section has two short walls on the sides that Bowser's Muscle Car rides on. Between the walls, a Goomba Tower and a Goomba carrying a Super Bell can be found. After this is a small jump, followed by a big jump to the next section. The next section is very simple, with the only thing of note being a small jump. This section repeats itself for the remainder of the battle. After being hit enough times, the car crashes away, breaking the road in the process. Bowser realizes that there is nothing supporting him and falls down to the wreckage. The car explodes when he lands, and he is blasted away. The Warp Box to the Goal Pole then appears along with some coins.

The second form of Bowser's Muscle Car

Bowser's Muscle Car is battled again at Bowser's Lava Lake Keep, the final level of World Castle. It returns with new neon blue and pink details. In this battle, Bowser does not throw as many Kick Bombs and breathes more fireballs. However, the number of hits Bowser and his car take before defeat is the same as in the previous fight. Some of the Kick Bombs he throws are already activated and harm the player if touched. The layout of the highway is also more hazardous. In the first section, there are retractable spikes in different spots throughout the road, as well as two pits with Lava Geysers. The next area is a large grated bridge. Lava Geysers may spew up here. After a bit, the bridge splits into two sides, just close enough together for Bowser's Muscle Car to be supported by both sides. The bridge soon ends, and there is another jump to the next section. This is a repeating stretch with several vertical rows of spikes that retract in rapid succession.

Gallery

• 

  Bowser entering the stage in Bowser's Highway Showdown

• 

  Bowser defeated

• 

  The second Bowser battle

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  The vehicle found at the start of The Great Tower of Bowser Land

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  LEGO Super Mario

Additional names

Internal names

Game	File	Name	Meaning
Super Mario 3D World	content/ObjectData/KoopaChase.szs content/ObjectData/KoopaChaseLv2.szs	KoopaChase KoopaChaseLv2	Bowser Chase Bowser Chase Lv2

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	クッパ の ハイウェイカー Kuppa no Haiweikā	Bowser's Highway Car
Bosnian	Bowserov nabildani auto
Chinese (simplified)	酷霸的高速公路车 Kùbà de Gāosùgōnglù Chē	Bowser's Highway Car
Chinese (traditional)	庫巴的高速公路車 Kùbā de Gāosùgōnglù Chē	Bowser's Highway Car
Croatian	Bowserov bolid	Bowser's car
Czech	Bowserův sporťák
Danish	Bowsers muskelbil
Dutch	Bowsers bolide	Bowser's speedster
Estonian	Bowseri muskelauto
Finnish	Bowserin muskeliauto
French	Bolide de Bowser	Bowser's speedster
German	Bowsers Monsterkarre
Hungarian	Bowser izomautója
Italian	Bolide di Bowser	Bowser's race car
Korean	쿠파의 하이웨이 카
Latvian	Bowser muskuļauto
Lithuanian	Bowser galingas automobilis
Norwegian	Bowsers muskelbil
Polish	Muscle car Bowsera
Portuguese	Carro monstruoso do Bowser	Bowser's monstrous car
Romanian	Mașina forțoasă a lui Bowser	Bowser's strong car
Serbian	Bowserov masel kar
Spanish	Coche monstruoso de Bowser	Bowser's monstrous car
Swedish	Bowsers muskelbil	Bowser's muscle car
Turkish	Bowser'ın Büyük Arabası	Bowser's Big Car
Ukrainian	Маслкар Bowser	Bowser Muscle car

Trivia

• Bowser's Muscle Car inspired the creation of the Koopa Troopa Car in Super Mario Maker 2.