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- The wheels of the karts have a similar story to the Wumpa Fruit in previous games - they're not 3D, but actually sprites that always face the camera from the same angle. These were designed in a more clever way though, as they change their frames according to the camera angle (so you'll see the wheels' sides if the camera points at the kart from sideways, and so forth). This also made it easier for the Invisibility power-up, as all it needs is a turn-off of the 3D parts.
- Boss Garage entrances don't have the usual pixelized textures you'd see "painted on" in most PS1 games. Instead, they use several flat polygons to compose the paintings in the entrances, making them look better than they would with textures.
- Nitros Oxide was originally another evil scientist with a more standard human appearance. During development, the story was that he was trying to make the world faster and faster until the end of time, because of his obsession with speed. While further details about the original story are scarce, an old comic suggests Oxide would use a machine called the X Device.
- Oxide was originally intended to be playable, as evidenced by the usage of a GameShark code for that effect. He even has additional voice lines for when you play as him, instead of the mocking ones used in the boss races.
-A character named Trippo never made it past the sketchboard. He looked like a hippopotamus in a racing geddup.
- Some tracks have the same names as a few real locations, likely out of coincidence. Those are Tiger Temple, Mystery Caves, Glacier Park and Dragon Mines.
- The Trophy Girls' names (Ami, Isabella, Liz and Megumi) come from actual people who were involved in the games up to CTR. As demonstrated in the credits:
CRASH 1: Marketing Manager: Ami Matsumura-Blaire
Product Manager: Megumi Hosoya
CRASH 2: SR. Marketing Manager: Ami Matsumura-Blaire
Marketing Manager: Megumi Hosoya
PR Manager: Liz Ashford
CRASH 3: SR. Product Manager: Megumi Hosoya
SR. Marketing Manager: Ami Matsumura-Blaire
PR Manager: Liz Ashford
CTR: Director of Marketing: Ami Matsumura-Blaire
Product Manager: Isabelle Tomatis
While there's an Isabelle instead of an Isabella, she is still the most likely origin of the character's name, according to the trend.
- In 1999, the Pizza Hut restaurant chain did an advertising partnership with Sony. Robin Clark (Pizza Hut's manager of national advertising) wanted to advertise their then-new Stuffed Crust Pizza with an image that portrayed 'fun'. Their association with Sony allowed them to use Crash Bandicoot for that effect, and so a few TV ads were made using his character. According to Clark:
"We decided to use Crash in the advertising because he brings attitude to the game and the promotion," Clark says. "We actually used the actor that plays the character on television commercials and had him come in for photo shoots. Because we weren't restricted to the Crash Bandicoot in the game, it entitled us to really maximize on the fun nature of the character."
Additionally, they had a promotion going on that gave away free PlayStation demo discs to customers buying the Stuffed Crust Pizza. The first disc had a demo of CTR, as well as Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Ape Escape, Final Fantasy VII and Cool Boarders 4.
[Source]
- Nitros Oxide's name derives from the similarly-named gas called 'nitrous oxide'. It is often referred to as the laughing gas, and it's both colorless and almost odorless. It's interesting to note that Nitros Oxide's name is misspelled in Crash Nitro Kart, where it's written as "Nitrous Oxide" instead (just like the gas).
- Much like Tiny Tiger, his track, Tiny Arena, isn't very tiny at all (in fact, it takes the most time to complete out of all the tracks in the game).