Mario Kart 8 Unlocks Guide – Characters, Gold Karts, Parts, Items and Alternate Ending

List of Mario Kart 8 unlocks and how you can unlock characters, gold parts, gold karts, items and alternate ending in the game.


The much-awaited Mario Kart 8 has at last hit the store shelves and features a wide-range of unlockable items ranging from characters to different game modes, bonus karts, and customizable parts.

Mario Kart 8 Unlocks

For a general overview, the characters are unlocked by collecting Gold Trophies in Grand Prix Mode while Karts and Kart Parts are unlocked by collecting coins.

How to Unlock Characters

There are 14 unlockable characters that can be unlocked in Mario Kart 8. Like I’ve mentioned above, in order to unlock these characters, you must get Gold Rewards in the Grand Prix Mode.

All of these characters are unlocked randomly; therefore, you must try and gather as many Gold Trophies as you can. A few characters that can be unlocked in Mario Kart 8 are:

  • Mii
  • Baby Rosalina
  • Pink Gold Peach
  • Ludwig
  • Lemmy
  • Roy
  • Iggy
  • Wendy
  • Morton
  • Larry

Mario Kart 8 – How To Unlock Game Modes

Mirror Mode
How to Unlock: You must acquire a Gold Trophy on all 8 Grand Prix tracks to unlock Mirror Mode

In this game mode, players will see mirror-image of everything in every game track. Every turn in the game will be reversed; even text on billboards will also appear upside down.

How to Unlock Gold Karts and Gold Parts

Just like its previous iterations, collecting Gold Karts and Gold Parts is one hell of a job in Mario Kart 8. It is a time-consuming job, but the rewards are promising.

Here’s how you can unlock standard Gold Kart and Gold Parts in Mario Kart 8:

Unlocking Gold Kart
This is sure as shooting one of the most difficult challenges in the game. You must attain one star on every Grand Prix track. Wait, there’s more!

Not only Grand Prix tracks, but you also need to attain a star in Mirror Mode tracks to unlock this shiny Gold Kart.

Gold Tires
What if you’re unable to acquire the Gold Kart! Getting your hands on Gold Tires is not as hard as getting the Gold Kart. To unlock these Gold Tires, you must beat every staff ghost in Time Trial Mode.

Gold Gliders
Strictly speaking about Gold Parts, this is by far the easiest challenge. Simply earn 10,000 coins and these shiny Gold Gliders are yours!

Unlocking Ordinary Items and Karts

Just like previous Mario Kart games, items and karts are unlocked by collecting Coins in different game modes. Also note that playing with multiple players will increase your Coin Count far faster than playing alone.

At the beginning of the game, each customization item will unlock after 50 Coins interval. For example Cushion Wheels will unlock at 50 Coins and Mr. Scooty will unlock at 100 Coins followed by Blue Standard unlocking at 150 Coins.

However, after you have acquired 1,000 Coins, this Coin Interval will increase to 100 Coins. In short, with the exception of Gold Gliders (which unlock at 10,000 Coins), the final customizable item will unlock at 2,800 Coins.

Note: The list provided below is only for your reference. The parts are unlocked in a random order based on your collected coins.

Cushion Wheels
These wheels are unlocked by collecting 50 coins.

Mr. Scooty
This Bike is unlocked by collecting 100 coins.

Blue Standard
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 150 coins.

Pipe Frame
This Kart is unlocked by collecting 200 coins.

Tri-Speeder
Three-wheeled Kart is unlocked by collecting 250 coins.

Slick
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 300 coins.

Wild Wiggler
This ATV is unlocked by collecting 350 coins.

Button
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 400 coins.

Cloud Glider
These Gliders are unlocked by collecting 450 coins.

Varmint
This Bike is unlocked by collecting 500 coins.

Plane Glider
These Gliders are unlocked by collecting 550 coins.

Yoshi Bike
This Bike is unlocked by collecting 600 coins.

Flower Glider
These Gliders are unlocked by collecting 650 coins.

The Duke
This Bike is unlocked by collecting 700 coins.

Circuit Special
This Kart is unlocked by collecting 750 coins.

Prancer
This Kart is unlocked by collecting 800 coins.

Crimson Slim
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 850 coins.

Landship
This Kart is unlocked by collecting 900 coins.

Flame Rider
This Bike is unlocked by collecting 950 coins.

Retro Off-Road
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 1000 coins.

Steel Driver
This Kart is unlocked by collecting 1100 coins.

Azure Roller
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 1200 coins.

Wario Wing
This Kite is unlocked by collecting 1300 coins.

Comet
This Bike is unlocked by collecting 1400 coins.

Off-Road
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 1500 coins.

Metal Wheels
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 1600 coins.

Jet Bike
This Bike is unlocked by collecting 1700 coins.

Teddy Buggy
This Kart is unlocked by collecting 1800 coins.

Waddle Wing
These Gliders are unlocked by collecting 1900 coins.

Bowser Kite
These Gliders are unlocked by collecting 2000 coins.

Hot Monster
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 2100 coins.

Cat Cruiser
This Kart is unlocked by collecting 2200 coins.

Sponge
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 2300 coins.

Peach Parasol
These Gliders are unlocked by collecting 2400 coins.

MKTV Parafoil
These Gliders are unlocked by collecting 2500 coins.

Cyber Slick
These Wheels are unlocked by collecting 2600 coins.

Sports Coupe
This Kart is unlocked by collecting 2700 coins.

How to Unlock Alternate Ending

Aside from the regular ending, you can also unlock an alternate ending with different music and ending credits. In order to do so, you need to beat Gold on all Mirror Mode tracks along with 150cc races.

Found anything missing or confusing? Let us know in the comments below!

Haider is a freelance contributor, who loves video games, playing guitar, and aviation. He is a competitive FPS player and also enjoys exotic RPG games like Diablo and Xenogears (his favorite game of all time) ...