Everyone’s favorite Italian-American plumber, Mario Mario, is maybe the most iconic racing driver in history, thanks to his eponymous Kart video game. While his race car doesn’t have a fun name—it’s known in-game as the “Standard Kart”—it has all kinds of cool tricks to make the racing all the more fun. It can hover, drift, and mushroom boost with the best of them. Does that make it the greatest car in video gaming history?
When I think about cars in video games, my mind immediately goes to the R34-generation Nissan GT-R from the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, as found in Gran Turismo 3. GT3 was the first racing video game that I truly loved, and I poured hundreds of hours, and my soul, into being as good as I possibly could. When I finally worked my way up to enough credits to be able to afford the big guns, this car felt like a cheat code. After starting with a Mazda Demio or whatever, and working up through a series of street cars, getting a car with proper downforce was basically mind-bending.
I don’t even particularly care for R34 GT-Rs, but this car, especially in this not-quite-photo-realistic rendering, will always have a place in my heart as my favorite video game car. It just zooms so much better than young budding car enthusiast me could have ever thought possible. This car is the king of all video game cars.
We all know you don’t agree with me, so let’s hear it. What’s your favorite video game car of all time? Are you an Ivan Stewart fan, or are you hooked on the Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak? Or do you think the Halo Warthog is worth a spot on the list? Sound off in the comments below.