Car
- This article is about a usable vehicle in Diddy Kong Racing. For the Yoshi transformation from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, see Car Yoshi. For the obstacle from the Mario Kart series, see Car (obstacle).
- Not to be confused with Kart.
Cars are one of three ridable vehicles in Diddy Kong Racing and Diddy Kong Racing DS, along with hovercrafts and planes. Cars are land vehicles, and they are used for racetracks set on the road.
In the original version, every character's vehicle has their own unique color, including cars, though each one's tires are always red. In Diddy Kong Racing DS, every character's vehicles are yellow by default. The player can access Taj's Wishes Menu to purchase upgrades for a car's speed, handling, and acceleration. They can also customize a car's paint color from a slider or put an emblem on it, much like in Mario Kart DS. While the cars are modeled in-game in the original Diddy Kong Racing, their wheels are prerendered sprites set to always face the camera (a rendering technique called "billboarding"). The vehicle colors in the original version are as follows:
The player can select a course's available vehicles to race in from either the "Tracks" menu or by completing a Silver Coin Challenge (or Balloon Touch Challenge in the DS remake).
Cars are usable in every level except Hot Top Volcano, Whale Bay, Pirate Lagoon, and Boulder Canyon, where the player must use a hovercraft or plane instead. Cars are usable in Everfrost Peak in the original Nintendo 64 version, but since the course's icy pond is thawed in the DS release, cars cannot be used in the stage. Cars are most commonly the default vehicle compared to hovercrafts and planes. Cars and their availability status in the courses are as follows:
| Course | Availability | Default vehicle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dino Domain | |||
| Ancient Lake | 
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| Fossil Canyon |
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| Jungle Falls |
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| Hot Top Volcano | 
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| Boss level: Tricky Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Fire Mountain |
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| Snowflake Mountain | |||
| Everfrost Peak | (N64) (DS)
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| Walrus Cove |
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| Snowball Valley |
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| Frosty Village |
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| Boss level: Bluey Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Icicle Pyramid |
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| Sherbet Island | |||
| Whale Bay |
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| Crescent Island |
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| Pirate Lagoon |
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| Treasure Caves |
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| Boss level: Bubbler Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Darkwater Beach |
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| Dragon Forest | |||
| Windmill Plains |
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| Greenwood Village |
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| Boulder Canyon |
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| Haunted Woods |
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| Boss level: Smokey Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Smokey Castle |
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| Future Fun Land | |||
| Space Dust Alley |
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| Darkmoon Caverns |
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| Spaceport Alpha |
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| Star City |
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| Wizpig | |||
| Wizpig's First Strike |
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| Wizpig Strikes Back |
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Gallery
Side view of a car
Top view of a car
Icon from Diddy Kong Racing DS
Early car and hovercraft designs
