Review: 72037 Mario Kart™– Mario & Standard Kart from LEGO® Super Mario™

Today we head to the rainbow road with a look at the strange new moulds, rare recolours and stand-out build techniques in 72037 Mario Kart™– Mario & Standard Kart.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

72037 Mario Kart™– Mario & Standard Kart

• Release date: 15 May 2025
• Pieces: 1972

Price:

• US$ 169.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 219.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 139.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 249.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 299.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 169,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 169,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 169,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN 749.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 2099,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 1329.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

Mario's moustache (part 7211)

Familiar features like studs, anti-studs and stud notches go a long way to soften the highly specialised appearance of Plate Special 2 x 6 with Mario Moustache Shape in Black (6528112 | 7211). 

The sideways orientation of the LEGO® logos shouldn't bother me – but they do – although by having them this way, the element is technically more in-keeping with regular 2-module wide plates.

The footprint is generally out of the LEGO® System but most sections allow other parts to nestle around them quite nicely, especially the 2x2 45° wedge plates (shown in blue). It's just the moustache's tips that are particularly uncooperative. 

In a bizarre example of synergy between LEGO Super Mario elements, the curl of the moustache is a match with Donkey Kong's foot (3560)! 

It's certainly one of the most specialised plates around but at least it's among friends. The lower edge feels similar to that of the half cloud plate (5518, above middle left) and its full-cloud cousin (35470, above upper right). I doubt it'll be as handy for structural building as the heart (39613) has been on occasion, but perhaps there is still potential beyond a famous plumber's face fluff?

Here's one possible use:

With the rest of the 'tache hidden away, the rounded tips become the streamlined edge of a car's front spoiler. I welcome suggestions of specific cars this shape might be appropriate for.

Mario's nose (part 7256)

Brick Round Dome 3 x 2 1/2 x 2 (Mario Nose) in Light Nougat (6532794 | 7256) could easily be mistaken for a blob of plasticine. That is until you turn it over and oh my goodness why does it have so many teeth?! Presumably all those ridges hit the optimum balance of strength, utility and minimised material usage that part designers strive for. There's definitely some raw design work to appreciate here – even if the result is a bit unsettling.

Its 1-plate high step at the base provides a surer connection to the rest of Mario's face and moustache but it does add another dimension of weirdness to the element. Speaking of dimensions, the 'height' of the nose is mercifully in-System at a nice 2 bricks.

I was confident the 'width' would be a sensible 3 modules but those 1x2x2 bricks on the left don't look too happy do they? A bracket and plate seem to equal the mystery distance, meaning the total width of the element is 3.2 modules, or 8 plates wide.

The 'depth' of the nose has me stumped. Both these tablescraps (plus many more I didn't bother photographing) are off by microscopic amounts. I even used electronic micrometres to try and discern a logical size within the LEGO metric, but to no avail. Best guess is that it's a touch over 6.5 plates deep.

My instinct would be to store the nose alongside other wacky, shapely moulds like this head from the LEGO® Trolls World Tour line. However, it seems to have some passing kinship with the 4 x 4 dome (35320, shown in yellow) so perhaps it does have a place amongst regular rounded elements too? 

Then again, that underside pattern...

Perhaps it belongs with the Trolls after all.

Elements of interest

My intention was to just analyse the nose and moustache moulds but the rest of the set proved to be quite impressive, so let's continue with a look at the set's recolours, decorations and rare parts.

Exclusive recolours

Light Nougat

• 8 x Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with 1 Cutout (6547145 | 5907)
• 4 x Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 Inverted (6547147 | 99207)
• 2 x Brick Round Corner, Curved 2 x 2 x 2/3 Quarter Circle (6547144 | 5852)
• 3 x Slope Curved 2 x 1 with Stud Notch Left (6480356 | 29120) and Right (6480371 | 29119)
• 1 x Plate Special 1 x 3 with 2 Studs with Groove and Inside Stud Holder (Jumper) in Light Nougat (6492198 | 34103)

Reddish Brown

• 2 x Brick Round Corner, Curved 3 x 3 x 1 Quarter Circle (6551601 | 76797)
• 2 x Plate Special 1 x 3 Rounded with 3 Open Studs (6551600 | 77850)

Bright Yellow/ Yellow

• 2 x Plate Round 1 x 2 Half Circle with Stud (Jumper) (6547142 | 1745)

Bright Blue/ Blue

• 2 x Slope Curved 1 x 4 x 1 2/3 No Studs in Bright Blue/ Blue (6547140 | 3573)
• 2 x Plate Round Corner 2 x 2 with 1 x 1 Cutout (6551598 | 79491)
• 11 x Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 with Curved Top (6547143 | 5841)

Bright Red/ Red

• 4 x Technic Steering Arm 5 x 1 with Towball Socket (Type2) (6547151 | 31794)
• 10 x Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with 1 Cutout (6547136 | 5907)
• 2 x Brick Round Corner, Curved 2 x 2 x 1 2/3 Quarter Dome with 1 Cutout (6547138 | 5906)
• 6 x Brick Round Corner, Curved 2 x 2 x 2/3 Quarter Circle (6547139 | 5852)

The remaining two red elements were previously only available from exclusive LEGO® Inside Tour sets:

• 4 x Slope Curved 2 x 2 Inverted with 1 x 2 Cutouts (6551599 | 1750) - 4x in 4000040 LEGO Fire Engine from 2023
• 2 x Brick Special 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with 8 Studs on 3 Sides (6542271 | 67329) 1x in 4000046 LEGO Inside Tour Anniversary Collection from 2025

Decorations

No stickers here, all decorations are achieved with prints. My apologies for inadvertently creating a creepy ears-for-eyes Mario.

• 2 x Cylinder Half 2 x 4 x 2 with 1 x 2 Cutout with Yellow Stripes print in Black (6559604)
• 1 x Brick Round 3 x 6 Half Circle with Red 'W' in White Circle print in Bright Red/ Red (6523150)
• 2 x Dish 6 x 6 Inverted (Radar) with Wheel Rim, 4 Black Spokes print in Bright Yellow/ Yellow (6523149)
• 2 x Dish 4 x 4 with Wheel Rim, 4 Black Spokes print in Bright Yellow/ Yellow (6523148)
• 1 x Tile Round 6 x 6 with Red 'M' print in White (6523147)
• 2 x Slope Curved 4 x 1 Double with No Studs with Silver Ovals print in White (6523151)
• 1 x Tile Round 2 x 2 Half Circle with Nougat Inner Ear print in Light Nougat Left
• (6540217) and Right (6523155)
• 1 x Tile 1 x 3 with Nougat Mouth, Smile print in Light Nougat (6523154)
• 1 x Tile 2 x 4 with Eye, Azure Iris, Black Pupil, Black Eyebrow  print in Light Nougat Left (6523152) and Right (6523153)

Rare parts

The set also includes a modest selection of rarer elements, each appear in 2 other sets or less:

Black

• 2 x Cone 4 x 4 x 3 with Axle Hole (6516527 | 3569)
• 4 x Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 2/3 Double Curved Top, No Studs (6472004 | 3563)

Light Bluish Grey

• 2 x Brick Round 2 x 2 D. Tube with 45° Elbow and Axle Holes (Crossholes) at Each End [LONG] (6529499 | 5489)

Light Nougat

• 3 x Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 1/3 with Curved Top (6509880 | 32807)
• 2 x Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 2 Inverted (6440976 | 73825)

Bright Red/ Red

• 1 x Windscreen 6 x 8 Curved (6507856 | 5274)
• 8 x Slope Curved 1 x 4 x 1 2/3 No Studs (6508117 | 3573)
• 2 x Tile Special 1 x 3 Inverted with Center Hole (6533766 | 35459)
• 2 x Hinge Cylinder 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger and Axle Hole On Ends (6547135 | 53923)

The Build

First up is the Kart. Its construction starts off with the expected LEGO® Technic brick-based chassis but is soon festooned with neat techniques that provide subtitles in shape and colour blocking. 

At the front end are two pink ink wells (31561) that serve as the mount points for the curved edges of the nose (above left). Nearby, the steering column has a subtle taper achieved with LEGO Technic elements (above centre). Also note the clever use of a ball socket joint (67695) for reliable transmission of motion for the steering mechanism (above right).

Stripping down one of the side pods reveals my favourite technique on the Kart. An angled subassembly uses two 1x1x2 upwards brackets (73825) to top and tail some 1x2x2/3 slopes (5404, above left). This is capped by an upside-down assembly with another 2x2x2/3 slope in red (above right) to achieve a compact angled stripe.

Aside from the neat use of a couple of 3-way Technic Axle Connector Hubs (57585) to mount the exhaust stacks, the rear of the Kart isn't as impressive techniques-wise but still features some pleasing SNOT-based colour blocking.

The rocking stand is simple yet effective, providing a surprising amount of dynamism to the final build.

Something to watch out for are the two weak points on the frame that can separate if you frequently carry the whole set (to and from a light box, for instance). It's not that big of a deal once it is in-place on a shelf though.

LEGO Mario

In terms of build experience and looks, Mario is exceptional. The only drawback is that he's permanently in a seated position (with rather unsightly buttocks). Obviously that's not an issue in this set but for those hoping for a fully poseable Mario, I'm afraid you'll have to get modifying.

His body has some nifty angle work with minimal gaps – the alignment of the double cheese slopes are especially satisfying. 

Mario's head is where things get wild. It's built in 3 main chunks (face, hair and hat) which all sit at different angles and are linked by just a few LEGO Technic axles. As a result, it is a bit wobbly, but the impressive lack of gaps and overall likeness to the 'real' Mario more than make up for it.

Completed build

That positive impression doubles down when he's placed into the driver's seat. Both Mario and Kart are rendered brilliantly, with hardly any studs to be seen.

Even around the back!

Closing thoughts

Those more familiar with the Nintendo brand will probably spot some inaccuracies or might bemoan the decision to render this particular kart when there are so many other styles to choose from. However, speaking as a LEGO fan, I'm wholly satisfied. It's a decent price, has great parts, no stickers, a stellar build experience and appears highly accurate to the source material.

Were the new specialised moulds worth it? I think so. The moustache is a playful twist on familiar plate elements and fits into the LEGO System well despite its peculiar shape. 

The nose is tougher. It feels like an easy fix for a complex shape that usually begs for some clever parts combo, not a bespoke new mould. But because the model looks so much better for it, and the rest of the build's techniques are so good, I reluctantly accept it.

 

Buy on LEGO.com

READ MORE: Review of the new LEGO® Holiday Season 2025 sets including LEGO Star Wars 40806, 40809, 40812 & 40820

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