Zipper

Zippers are a type of panel featured in Diddy Kong Racing and Diddy Kong Racing DS. Like the Dash Panels in the Mario Kart games, driving into a Zipper grants the racer a temporary speed boost.

There are three different types of Zippers which, although they are essentially identical in function, are mainly different depending on their placement and therefore which vehicle can most easily access it. Car Zippers are arrow-shaped panels placed on the ground, Hovercraft Zippers are triangle-shaped and are on bodies of water, and Plane Zippers are ring-shaped and are in the air. Zippers give off a larger boost of speed if the player lets go of the button right before the racer hits one.

Zippers are not necessarily off-limits to vehicles not associated with it. Planes can reach any type of Zipper, but all Plane Zippers are out of reach for Cars and Hovercrafts. Cars can use Hovercraft Zippers but are not designed for such as they travel very slowly within the water. Hovercrafts can use Zippers both on the ground and on the water. Some Zippers do not appear if the racers are driving a vehicle not associated with it.

Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)
In the unreleased 2001 build of Diddy Kong Pilot, there are both ground and aerial Zippers, and they essentially function the same as in the original version. The aerial Zippers retain their design from Diddy Kong Pilot, but are more orange in color. The ground Zippers are very different in design, as they depict a dark blue square with a red upward arrow.

Banjo-Pilot
In Banjo-Pilot, they are named Speed-Up Rings, and are mostly the same in design as in the 2001 Diddy Kong Pilot but were given a lighter color and a slightly different placement of the red triangle pattern. Shooting at a Purple Glowbo causes a uniquely colored Speed-Up Ring to appear temporarily, and flying through it causes a chain of a few more to each appear if gone through, with the final leading to a faster and longer boost. If the player's racer misses a Speed-Up Ring, a certain sound effect plays to indicate that the Speed-Up Ring has vanished. Shooting at a Green Glowbo causes a Speed-Up Ring to appear, and piloting into it plays a sound effect saying "Go, Glowbo, go!" and puts the player's racer on auto-pilot up to the finish line, although only for that one lap.

In the unreleased Diddy Kong Pilot 2003 prototype build, the Speed-Up Rings function the same, although the player's racer has to fire at a Target Balloon instead of a Glowbo for its Speed-Up Ring to appear. Shooting at a red Target Balloon causes a pink Speed-Up Ring to appear, and flying through the succession of pink Speed-Up Rings causes a voice clip saying "Monkey Power" to play during the final boost. Shooting at a yellow Target Balloon causes a yellow Speed-Up Ring with black stripes to appear. Piloting into it plays a voice that says "Monkey Madness" instead of "Go, Glowbo, go!".

Profiles

 * Banjo-Pilot instruction booklet (page 9): "Temporary boost – your maximum speed is increased on contact. Fly through the rings in succession to dramatically improve those lap times!"
 * Diddy Kong Racing DS instruction booklet (page 11): "Make contact with the zippers on each track to gain a momentary speed burst."