Super Mario

Mario Kart, Luigi & Mach 8

Luigi finally gets his moment, and the Mach 8 steals the show.

4.8/5

Set 72050 · 2026

Pieces2,234

Minifigsn/a

Year2026

Set number72050

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The verdict

If you love Mario Kart or just want a chunky display piece that looks the part, this one's an easy yes.

It's a proper step up from last year's Mario & Standard Kart, with cleverer techniques, zero stickers, and a spinning-flame gimmick that never gets old. Just know going in that it's a display model first and a toy second, so if you want something to race around the floor, temper your expectations. For a licensed Nintendo set the value is genuinely decent.

Best for: Adult Mario Kart fans who want a display piece, not a toy

The full review

So here's the deal. This is the second big-scale car-and-driver set in the Mario Kart line, and it takes Luigi and drops him into the Mach 8, that blue jet-turbine kart that's been a fan favourite since Mario Kart 8 back in 2014. It's a chunky LEGO® set at 2,234 pieces, and once it's together it's a real presence on a shelf, measuring roughly 41cm long, 25cm wide and 23cm tall. Luigi himself is a buildable figure with a poseable head, arms and hands, and he perches behind the wheel looking every bit the slightly nervous younger brother we all know and love.

The headline feature, and the thing everyone talks about, is that rolling the kart makes the flames out the back spin. It's a lovely little mechanical touch. Turn the steering wheel and the front tyres shift too, though only a little. And the best part for a lot of builders is that the whole thing is sticker-free. Every detail, from Luigi's eyes and ears to those iconic letter 'L' number plates, is printed. If you've ever fought with a wonky sticker on a curved panel, you'll know exactly why that matters so much.

Now the honest bits. The interior doesn't quite match the quality of the exterior. Reviewers keep landing on the same gripes, that the red seat is plain and the dashboard feels a bit undercooked, basically some coloured round tiles sitting on bare plates. The tyres are another sore spot. Getting the Slim tyres onto the rims is genuinely a fiddle, and once the heavy body sits on top the wheels can wobble or buckle a touch. A few builders also found the instructions confusing in the deep interior sections, and the final stretch of the build a little tedious.

At $179.99 it's ten dollars more than last year's Mario set, but you're getting a noticeably bigger and more sophisticated model for that, so most reviewers reckon the value is solid for a licensed Nintendo set. Who's it for? Grown-up Mario Kart fans who want something handsome to display, and anyone who enjoyed the first kart and wants to keep the collection growing. Who should skip it? If you're buying for a younger kid who wants to smash it around the living room, this leans display piece, and the fiddly wheels and interior probably aren't worth the outlay. But if you want Luigi on your shelf looking sharp, this is one of the best things the Super Mario theme has done.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build is a clear step up in complexity from the first kart, and that's mostly down to the Mach 8's odd shape. You spend a good chunk of time on a Technic-heavy chassis that houses the flame-spinning mechanism and the limited steering, and Jay's Brick Blog admitted the innermost sections can be genuinely bewildering while you're in them. It pays off though. The moment those blue-and-yellow curved panels start clicking into the bodywork is the satisfying payoff everyone mentions. It's approachable enough if you've done a Technic vehicle before, maybe a little daunting if you haven't, and the final stretch does drag a bit as you wrestle the wheels on.

For parts people there's plenty to pick at. The set leans on exclusive recolours, including bright green elements for Luigi, trans-black slopes, and dark blue round plates, alongside new molds specific to the Mario Kart line. Luigi's moustache is a fresh take on Mario's from set 72037, with a smoother lower edge. The big draw is how much of the detail is printed rather than stickered, so those 'L' plates and Luigi's face are proper prints you can reuse. At 2,234 pieces for $179.99 the per-piece maths is reasonable for a licensed set, and reviewers reckon the techniques, parts and accuracy are close to maxed out for the size.

Fun facts

01The Mach 8 debuted as a default kart body in Mario Kart 8 in 2014, and its name plays on both the game's number and the Mach Five from Speed Racer.
02Its design mashes up a jet turbine grille with the look of 1950s Formula One cars, which is why it has that swoopy blue body and yellow tailfin.
03The whole set is completely sticker-free, with even Luigi's eyes and the 'L' number plates printed straight onto the elements.
04Compared to last year's Mario & Standard Kart, this model is about 3cm taller, 4cm wider and 9cm longer, so it's a real size bump for only ten dollars more.