Ultimate Racing Game

Alright. I am using Mario Kart as the basis for this, but feel free to add to it.

Characters:
TONS: Think Mario Superstar Baseball or F-Zero. Loads of characters!

Courses:
Zany! Think Mario Kart DS with a mix of F-Zero, perhaps some RUSH 2 thrown in too. Shortcuts galore! (and courses galore! Even an X cup like in F-Zero X would be so sweet!).

Battles: Stunts or bomb-ombs! Take your pick. Balloons, shines, the works! Massive levels, multi-stories, and smaller ones too. Perhaps a maze as well...

Players: Up to 16, or maybe 30+ with lots of online capabilities. However, don't neglect the single player either (think Mario Kart DS).

Power Ups: First off, an option to play without them. Actually, let's take that a step further, doing a Crash Team Racing thing where you pick what's in and what's out. For the powerups themselves, lots of a strong variety. Also, standard swipes, like F-Zero (option on or off).

AI: Think F-Zero here. I like to have several who consistantly are in the top 10 but no single racer who is just always beside you. The rival note is nice too.

Customization: Deck out your cars even more than Stunt Racer. Change players and cars like in Mario Kart DS. Add decals and paint. Also, have a build-your-own like in F-Zero GX, but with more options.

Create-a-Course: Don't know how it would work well, but it would have to be accessible for everyone, from those who want to worry about the fine details to those that just want to build and race (but have it look nice!).

I know there's more, but I cannot think of more right now. And, with everything, there should be an option to turn stuff off for those who don't like such massive games.

So basically you just want Mario Kart DS combined with F-Zero plus a create-a-course mode. ;)

Well I can't very well argue with that; those definitely were two of the finest racers ever made.

Perfect racing game, hmm, for me it would probably be realistic with arcade options. LOTS OF CARS. In fact, custom create cars, but so long as the balance was perfect, I'd love it.

Tracks, many. Ovals to twisty twisty tracks. So long as you could pack em with LOADS (IM TALKING 50) other cars, it would RULE.