Editing Koopa Clown Car

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|latest_appearance=''[[Mario & Luigi: Brothership]]'' ([[List of games by date#2024|2024]])

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{{quote|Can [[Mario|you]] believe that [[Bowser|Lord Bowser]] banned me from piloting the clown car again?|[[Shy Guy]]|''[[Paper Mario: The Origami King]]''}}

The first appearance of the Koopa Clown Car was in ''[[Super Mario World]]''; in the [[Valley of Bowser]], Bowser can be seen flying around [[Bowser's Castle|his castle]] in it. After making his way through Bowser's Castle and onto the rooftop of it, [[Mario]] proceeds to battle Bowser, who rides around in the Koopa Clown Car. Attacking Mario by dropping [[Metal ball|Big Steelies]] and [[Mechakoopa]]s on him, Bowser can be injured only by having a jumped-on Mechakoopa thrown at him when he sticks his head out of the Koopa Clown Car. After being hit by Mechakoopas several times, Bowser tries to use the Koopa Clown Car, whose face grows more sinister and manic, to crush Mario. Bowser also begins dropping [[Bowser's Flame|Flame]]s from the Koopa Clown Car. [[Princess Peach|Princess Toadstool]] tosses Mario a [[Super Mushroom]]. After being hit six times by flung Mechakoopas, Bowser and the Koopa Clown Car are beaten; he then relinquishes Princess Toadstool from it and retreats. The Koopa Clown Car here is able to blink and show other facial expressions with its eyes.

[[List of Super Mario World pre-release and unused content|Early]] sprites found in the game's source assets seem to indicate it was initially intended to have a wind-up key on the bottom instead of a propeller.<ref>{{cite|author=GamingAlexandri|date=July 24, 2020|url=x.com/GamingAlexandri/status/1286734000057458689|title=People are digging up all sorts of unused art assets from the latest Nintendo leak. Here's some screenshots of some examples. Bowser from SMW apparently had legs at one time?|publisher=X|accessdate=July 25, 2020}}</ref>

The Clown Car re-appears in the [[Nintendo 3DS|3DS]] game ''[[New Super Mario Bros. 2]]''. The [[Koopalings]] can be seen riding in it together. In the corridors of the final castle in World 6 (and World Star), the Koopalings are seen "flashing" with the Koopa Clown Car's eyes. Mario can evade said "flash" by passing between the castle's pillars. If the flash touches Mario, he will be turned into stone. After Mario defeats Bowser for the first time, the Koopalings use their magic to enlarge Bowser, but in doing so they and the Clown Car get knocked into the lava. The Koopa Clown Car was used one final time in the ending, where the Koopalings attempted to carry Bowser with it. However, because Bowser's size exceeded its capacity, the Koopalings and Bowser were scattered throughout the trees and floor. The Koopa Clown Car was also revealed to have an autopilot function, as demonstrated when the Koopa Clown Car delivered a caged Princess Peach to Bowser's castle shortly after [[Ludwig|Ludwig von Koopa]]'s defeat at the hands of Mario in the game.

Bowser always appears using the Koopa Clown Car in ''[[Super Mario Run]]'', except for his appearance in Remix 10. The course [[Bowser's Bob-ombing Run]] is dedicated to a boss fight where Bowser stays on the right side of the screen while attacking the player with projectiles. The Koopa Clown Car's contribution to the battle, aside from letting Bowser fly, is revealing a cannon that can shoot a [[Spike Ball]]. After being hit twice with reflected [[Bob-omb]]s, the Koopa Clown Car becomes angry permanently while expelling smoke. The Spike Balls become larger. After the third hit, Bowser is defeated. Both Bowser and the car tumble off screen and crash.

[[File:CartoonClownCar.jpg|thumb|King Koopa using the Flying Clown Head in the ''Super Mario World'' television series episode "[[Send in the Clown]]".]]

The Koopa Clown Car, referred to as the '''Flying Clown Head''' in ''[[Koopa's Stone Age Quests]]'' and a ''[[Captain N: The Game Master]]'' preview, appeared in the [[Super Mario World (television series)|''Super Mario World'' cartoon]] episode "[[Send in the Clown]]." King Koopa uses the Flying Clown Head to announce to the cave-people of [[Dome City]] that they could go to the "[[Koopalings|Koopaling]] Bros. Circus" free of charge. Near the end of the episode, after Mario has destroyed the fake circus, an enraged King Koopa, having taken Princess Toadstool hostage, begins to attack Mario in the Flying Clown Head in a manner similar to the final boss battle from the game. He does so by dropping Big Steelies and [[Mechakoopa|Mechkoopas]] on Mario, as well as attempting to crush him. Eventually, King Koopa and his Flying Clown Head were defeated when Mario hurled a Mechkoopa at the vehicle, damaging its controls and causing it to fly off upside-down, dropping Princess Toadstool in the process.

The Koopa Clown Car has a slightly larger role in the [[Nintendo Switch]] [[Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)|remake]], where it is used by Mario, Bowser and [[Mallow]] in the [[Triple Move]] [[Clown Car Barrage]].

The Koopa Clown Car has appeared in several installments of the [[Mario Party (series)|''Mario Party'' series]], most notably in ''[[Mario Party 5]]'', ''[[Mario Party 6]]'', ''[[Mario Party 7]]'', and ''[[Mario Party 8]]''. In ''Mario Party 8'', it is depicted as having thicker lips and a green extension attached to its propeller; in addition to summoning cannons, it also has the ability to open its mouth, revealing a laser gun. However, these weapons are not all revealed in the beginning of the battle. The battle starts out with Bowser breathing fireballs, and for every three times [[Bowser]] is hit with blasts from the [[Star Rod (Mario Party 8)|Star Rod]] (except for the ninth hit, in which he blows out a large fireball instead before continuing using his normal attacks), he becomes angrier and summons additional weapons, eventually progressing to a full-scale assault, with laser gun blasts and [[Bullet Bill]] cannons being fired simultaneously. In ''[[Mario Party 9]]'', Bowser appears in the Koopa Clown Car at the end of a stage. Bowser and Bowser Jr. also ride their vehicles together in the ending. In ''[[Mario Party: Island Tour]]'', Bowser uses the Koopa Clown Car for transportation and during [[Bowser's Sky Scuffle]]. The Koopa Clown Car is used by Bowser for all three of the Bowser's Gauntlet minigames in ''[[Mario Party: Star Rush]]''. The Clown Car makes a minor appearance in ''[[Mario Party: The Top 100]]'' where it replaces Bowser's unnamed hovercraft in [[The Final Battle! (minigame)|The Final Battle!]]. In the remake of [[Yoshi's Tropical Island]] in ''[[Mario Party Superstars]]'', the Koopa Clown Car replaces the [[Bowser's Shell]] Bowser uses to swap places with [[Toadette]] (who herself replaces [[Toad]] as the one who gives [[Star (Mario Party series)|Stars]] to the players).

In ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'', an unlockable kart part called the [[Koopa Clown]] is modeled after the Koopa Clown Car. The kart part features a handling boost, but it hinders acceleration and off-road during the process. Actual Koopa Clown Cars appear in the retro battle stage, {{classic link|N64|Big Donut}}, and in the tracks [[Wuhu Loop]] and [[3DS Neo Bowser City|Neo Bowser City]], blowing wind for drivers flying above with gliders; the ones in <small>N64</small> Big Donut and Neo Bowser City have a green rim and feature Bowser's emblem instead of a face, while the one in Wuhu Loop is featureless and has a teal rim.

In ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'' [[Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8|DLC]], jack-in-the-boxes shaped like Koopa Clown Cars with [[? Block]]s for the boxes are hazards on the glider portion of {{classic link|GBA|Ribbon Road}}. The Koopa Clown Car on {{classic|3DS|Neo Bowser City}} returns, but has been slightly redesigned.

In ''[[Skylanders: SuperChargers]]'' and ''[[Skylanders: SuperChargers|Skylanders: SuperChargers Racing]]'', [[Bowser|Hammer Slam Bowser]]'s signature vehicle is the '''Clown Cruiser'''. Essentially, it is a mix between a Koopa Clown Car and a plane (much like ''[[Mario Kart DS]]''{{'}}s [[Hurricane (kart)|Hurricane]]). Like its owner, it also possesses a dark variant, known as the '''Dark Clown Cruiser'''.

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