Lightning McQueen

Lightning McQueen is the main character and central protagonist of the long-running and highly successful Cars franchise. He was created in the early 2000s by Pixar's design artists, and has become a popular mascot for his home franchise as well as Chace! and Pixar in general. Having debuted in the 2006 film Cars, McQueen is a professional racecar who quickly rose to prominence in his local scene, before debuting in the Piston Cup as the #95 Rust-eze driver. McQueen has had a lengthy and prosperous career, winning several championships before becoming the trainer and crew chief for Cruz Ramirez on the Dinoco racing team. He is typically portrayed as kindhearted and passionate, having found an unlikely home in the Arizona town of Radiator Springs, where he lives with his girlfriend Sally, his best friend Mater, and many of his other closest allies.
== Creation ==
During research for the first film, John Lasseter and General Motors designers met to discuss the updated Corvette design, which Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks were originally intended to be based on. However, changes to the plot resulted in both characters being left as generic stock racers. According to production designer Bob Pauley, Lightning's final design used elements from GT40s and Chargers, among many other models, to reflect his personality and role. Originally, Lightning's number was 57, John Lasseter's birthyear.
Athletic figures such as boxer Muhammad Ali and football quarterback Joe Namath were looked to during development of McQueen's personality, as well as popular musician Kid Rock, in order to create a cocky-but-likable character. Additionally, Michael Jordan was also looked to by the designers, due to his unique style of playing his sport.
His racing number, "95", is a reference to the year 1995, when Pixar's first full-length film, Toy Story was released. Originally, his number was going to be 57, which is the year John Lasseter was born (1957). Lightning's last name "McQueen" is a reference to Glenn McQueen, a supervising animator at Pixar who passed away in 2002.
== History ==
=== Background ===
While depictions of McQueen's origins have varied in details, recurring elements of the racecar's backstory paint him as an arrogant and self-centered "one-man show" who quickly became a standout in his local racing scene, driven by ambitions of becoming a professional Piston Cup driver and the face of the prestigious Dinoco brand. Following a harsh race turnout, the dejected trainee ran into a semi-trailer truck named Mack, whose connections within the Piston Cup circuit convinced McQueen to partner up with him and travel to a significant opportunity. Desperate for a new spokescar amidst their former's retirement, the goofy businessmen Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze gave Lightning his "big break" offering him a role as the driver for Rust-eze, and despite McQueen's distaste for their image, McQueen reluctantly accepts and enters the Piston Cup with his new friend Mack as his transporter.
McQueen's beginnings were first illustrated in the 2008 story "And Now a Word from Our Sponsor" from the World of Cars anthology book. Here, Lightning McQueen is an up-and-coming local racer on the Eastern seaboard, competing in regional events under sponsorship of Smell Swell Deodorizer. One day at the Simpletown Speedway, McQueen's management drops him in favor of another driver, whose "stinky" driving apparently suited Smell Swell's image better. A fan of McQueen's named Mack overhears their conversation, and knowing that his employers are on the lookout for a new spokescar to replace their own retiree, the trailer truck approaches Lightning and offers him a ride to Boston to meet them. The two become fast friends, and upon arrival in Boston, Rusty and Dusty hire McQueen practically on sight - The rookie soon finds this is due to their product Rust-eze's humiliating branding. With Mack as his transporter, Lightning is ready to begin his Piston Cup career.
The 2009 comic Cars: The Rookie follows a similar narrative, shown via flashbacks as McQueen recounts them to Darrell Cartrip prior to the big Dinoco 400 race seen in Cars. He tells of his scrappy origins as a gifted but reckless racer known as "Bulldozer" McQueen, apparently due to his "pushy" demeanor on the track. In his first full season, McQueen is successful, but his narcissism and self-centered attitude throughout the season inspire two of his rivals to sabotage him during the championship race. Discouraged and distraught, McQueen departs and runs into Mack, a rusty moving van for the Eggman company. Mack offers to bring him to the Beachside 500 Piston Cup race, as his longtime friend Gray has close connections in the Piston Cup. When the legendary the old Rust-eze #01 car suddenly calls it quits mid-race, Mack and the Rust-eze crew encourage McQueen to take over and finish the race - Though out of his element, McQueen manages to finish third behind the reigning champion The King and frequent runner-up Chick Hicks. Impressed by McQueen's talents, The King coins the nickname "Lightning" McQueen.
In the junior novel Struck by Lightning, McQueen's birthname is revealed to be Montgomery, or "Monty" for short.
=== Cars ===
In Cars, Lightning McQueen is a hotshot superstar who is on the cusp of becoming the first rookie ever to win the Piston Cup. The film opens at the Motor Speedway of the South, where the cocky and self-centered McQueen is competing in the Dinoco 400 for the champion title. After a three-way tie between him, seven-time champion The King and consistent runner-up Chick Hicks, Chick makes a bet with McQueen, where the first one to reach the tie-breaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway wins the Dinoco sponsorship. Desperate to win, McQueen rushes to Mack, who forces him to make an appearance at his sponsor's tent, which McQueen hates. Soon, the two are on the road, and McQueen urges Mack to drive through the night, without resting. Mack, sleeping, is later harassed by a gang of delinquents, who accidentally open McQueen's trailer unknowingly releasing him.
Lightning wakes up in the middle of the highway, and quickly tries to catch up with Mack. However, after mistaking a Peterbilt truck for him, McQueen figures that his best option is to search for help on the Interstate. McQueen rushes past a sleeping police officer named Sheriff, who chases him through a nearby town. While scared, McQueen accidentally knocks over a bunch of cans at Flo's, scratches Ramone's paint, knocks over Luigi's tires, and rips up the road with a statue of the town's founder, which ultimately lands him in the town's impound. When he wakes up in the morning, he discovers he is in the deserted town of Radiator Springs, where the angry residents sentence him to community service and make him fix the road by pulling a road paver named Bessie.
Persistent of making it to Los Angeles before Chick, Lightning first attempts to escape, but runs out of gas and is returned to the town, where he tries to fix the road quickly. The residents feel disrespected due to the rushed bumpy road, and Doc Hudson, the town's lawyer and doctor, challenges him to a road race, which Lightning loses, due to the lack of familiarity with dirt tracks.
Though initially hesitant to affiliate himself with the townsfolk, Lightning ends up making friends with the residents, particularly the absent-minded Mater, and the beautiful attorney Sally, who Lightning quickly gains a crush on. After learning of the history behind both the town and Doc Hudson, who was previously a famous Piston Cup dirt track racer, Lightning begins to marvel at Doc's skill and the certain racing tricks that Doc knows. After taking a drive with Sally, Lightning finds Doc out at Willy's Butte. Later, McQueen finishes the road, and while the townsfolk originally think he left without saying goodbyes, McQueen surprises the residents by arriving and asking for a new paint job and new tires. That night, while enjoying a "cruise" with the residents, the press find McQueen and take him away to the tie-breaker race.
At the beginning of the race, McQueen cannot get the thought of his new friends out of his mind and falls behind The King and Chick. When Mack asks him if he is all right when he swerves out of control, McQueen stammers as he does not know what to say, but when he hears Doc stating that he didn't come all the way to the race to see McQueen quit, the latter is surprised to see his Radiator Springs friends have arrived to serve as his racing team and Doc as his crew chief, and with the help of his team, especially Guido, who performs the quickest pit stop in Piston Cup history, Lightning finds himself well ahead of Chick and The King. However, sick of constantly coming in second, Chick performs a PIT maneuver on Weathers, causing him to spin out and crash. When McQueen remembers Doc's words about winning, Lightning gives up his victory and instead decides to help Strip to the finish line so that Strip can finish his final race, much to the happiness of the fans. Though Chick technically won the race, he is ignored, and instead, fans congratulate McQueen. Lightning decides to permanently establish Radiator Springs as his hometown, and the publicity sparks great interest in the town.
=== Cars: The Videogame ===
In Cars: The Videogame, which takes place just one year after the events of Cars, Lightning McQueen appears as the central character of the game's story mode, as well as the car that the player takes control of throughout the majority of the game. In this game, McQueen finds himself at the beginning of a new Piston Cup season, where Mack asks McQueen to obtain some practice before the first race, and he turns to the Radiator Springs citizens for help. After a few races, Mack and McQueen travel to the first race of the season, where Chick, who Lightning previously spotted observing him practicing, greets him. Upon Lightning's victory, Chick begins to seek additional help to sabotage McQueen's chances.
After more practicing and another Piston Cup race, Lightning meets and challenges a gang of race cars from Queens, New York City, who later reveal themselves to be allies of Chick. Still not satisfied, Chick continues to search for help, and meets with the same gang of tuner cars who had messed with McQueen the year earlier. The four cars are hired to rob Mack of McQueen's goods while he is on the Interstate, but McQueen manages to obtain them again by stealing it all back from the cars on the highway, who are then captured and subsequently arrested. They reveal themselves to be under hire of Chick, who Lightning later confronts at the Smasherville International Speedway. There, Lightning declares a three-race "Radiator Springs Grand Prix" event to determine who is the better competitor, an event that is supported by the Piston Cup.
After defeating Chick in all three races, McQueen then manages to win the championship, and upon his return to Radiator Springs, his trophy is put with Doc's three trophies from his past inside of the clinic.
Lightning also appears as a playable character in the Arcade and Versus modes. He has relatively high statistics in comparison to other characters, and also has the most paint jobs out of all characters.
=== Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures ===
Lightning is the main character in Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures. In this game, Lightning must help the residents of Radiator Springs by assisting them with their daily jobs. There are ten additional paint jobs that can be unlocked for McQueen, each one obtained by the player beating their fastest time on each of the default ten minigames.
=== Mater and the Ghostlight ===
In Mater and the Ghostlight, McQueen is one of the many who fall victim to Mater's pranks. While talking to Sally at Flo's V8 Café, McQueen inspects a pile of cans in the shape of Mater, but once he gets closer, Mater bursts through the stack, scaring McQueen. Mater teases Lightning, claiming he looks as if he has seen the Ghostlight. Sheriff warns Mater not to joke about the Ghostlight, and everyone listens as Sheriff tells a story about the mysterious creature. When Sheriff finishes, everyone hurries to sleep, leaving Mater alone in the streets.
Mater returns home, paranoid about the Ghostlight. Once he reaches his garage, he discovers a blue light behind him, and Mater starts frantically driving around Radiator Springs. Unbeknownst to Mater, the light is actually just a lamp that McQueen and Guido placed on his tow hook as payback for his pranks.
Once Mater loses his breath, he slows down and realizes the light is merely a lamp. McQueen and the other residents tease him, before hurriedly heading to sleep once more.
=== Cars: Mater-National Championship ===
In Cars: Mater-National Championship, the follow-up to Cars: The Videogame, Lightning is again the player character throughout the majority of the game's story mode. In this game, Lightning meets a variety of new opponents, including Italian Giovanni, cocky German champion Otto von Fassenbottom, Swedish jokester Gudmund, English rally car Emma, and Japanese drift racer Koji, who have arrived in Radiator Springs to compete in the Mater-National series of events, hosted by McQueen and Mater. Lightning also meets British tourist Philip and Russian challenger Yuri, who are simply visiting the town to compete in the various races.
Lightning also appears as a playable character in the game's Arcade and Versus modes, again with high statistics in comparison to the other vehicles, and a large number of paint jobs, eight of which can be obtained by collecting them at various locations in the game's explorable hub in story mode.
=== Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales ===
==== Rescue Squad Mater ====
In Rescue Squad Mater, Lightning and Mater drive past Red while he is watering his flowers, which reminds Mater of his career as a fire truck. As soon as reports of endangered vehicles would come in, Mater would immediately race to the scene, and do whatever he could to save others from fires. Mater tells McQueen that even he was saved by Mater once - after being rescued from a burning building, Lightning was rushed to the hospital for treatment toward his burns, and was operated on by none other than Mater, who also happened to be a doctor.
When Lightning questions the authenticity of this tale, Mater's former nurse, Nurse GTO, drives by the pair and greets Mater, leaving Lightning in disbelief.
==== Mater the Greater ====
In Mater the Greater, Mater tells Lightning the story of how he was once a daredevil who performed a variety of dangerous stunts, including jumping over a wide group of rusty cars, jumping through a ring of fire, diving into a small kiddie pool, and hanging on to an airplane as it made lots of sudden movements. Mater's greatest stunt, however, was jumping an enormous crater called Carburetor Canyon, which Lightning also participated in. Lightning drove down a very long ramp while being propelled by a rocket strapped to his trunk, and despite coming close, he did not make it. Lightning objects and accuses Mater of telling a tall tale, until Lug and Nutty, Mater's assistants, drive by them.
==== El Materdor ====
In El Materdor, Lightning and Mater are strolling through the bulldozer pasture, which leads Mater into a story of his days as a matador. Mater would constantly put his life at risk for the entertainment of others, by battling bulldozers. When Lightning questions this, Mater tells Lightning he was there too, and easily attracted the bulldozers due to his red paint scheme. When Lightning objects, he is then chased by a group of bulldozers, who have somehow escaped from their pasture.
==== Tokyo Mater ====
In Tokyo Mater, after Sheriff begins pursuit of three hooligans who drift past the Radiator Springs residents at Flo's V8 Café, Mater tells everyone about his career as a drift racer. After towing a car to Tokyo, he is challenged to a drift race by Kabuto and is subsequently modified to look more modern. During the race, Mater goes off-course and finds himself in a halfpipe, where cranes are lifting heavy objects. Suddenly, Lightning "Dragon" McQueen appears, and helps Mater navigate through the maze of objects and back onto course. Unlike in most other Cars Toons shorts, no evidence is provided to validate Mater's tale.
==== Unidentified Flying Mater ====
In Unidentified Flying Mater, Mater tells McQueen a story of how he met a UFO named Mator. However, Mator was captured by the government and studied, until Mater managed to break in and save him. When the two make their escape, Lightning joins them, but they are soon taken aboard a large UFO that is revealed to be Mator's mother. She drops them off in Radiator Springs, and Mator and his mother return home. As always, Lightning doubts this happened, but after McQueen leaves, Mater manages to fly again, just like how Mator taught him to.
==== Monster Truck Mater ====
In Monster Truck Mater, Mater's story this time is about his monster truck career; he was once a famous monster truck wrestler nicknamed "The Tormentor." While Mater fought many tough opponents, the biggest threat he faced was a giant construction vehicle named Dr. Frankenwagon's Monster. When Lightning curiously asks what happened, Mater tells him he was there as well, on a tag-team with Mater. The two managed to defeat the monster by flipping the ring over and on top of him.
==== Heavy Metal Mater ====
In Heavy Metal Mater, Mater tells Lightning a story of how he was once a popular heavy metal artist; after producing the hit "Dad Gum", Mater's band, titled Heavy Metal Mater, began to play live shows, with Lightning as the keyboardist. Right after Lightning objects, both of them look up to see a giant Music Video Mater balloon floating above them, the same one that Mater claimed would often be flown above the stage while they performed.
==== Moon Mater ====
In Moon Mater, Lightning plays a role in Mater's tale about how he became an autonaut and helped stranded agent Impala XIII, in which he is seen traveling down to the earth at incredible speeds, and eventually catches ablaze, before landing in the ocean. The rescue of the endangered autonaut makes the headlines, and Lightning, Mater, and Impala XIII are interviewed by newspapers and television shows. Despite McQueen's denial, Roger, Mater's shuttle, arrives and tells him he must go on another mission, and the two blast off into outer space, leaving Lightning in disbelief.
==== Mater Private Eye ====
In Mater Private Eye, Lt. McQueen and his assistants arrest Big D, after Mater discovers that he and his henchmen have been manufacturing counterfeit tires. As always, Lightning denies any truth in Mater's detective story, until Carmen, one of the cars Mater mentioned in his story, arrives and starts a conga dance, which Mater follows.
==== Air Mater ====
In Air Mater, Mater informs Lightning of his supposed relationship with popular air performers The Falcon Hawks, and how he filled in for one of the performers when his wing was damaged. However, during the performance, Mater's wings break, and he begins to fall. However, Lightning McQueen Hawk saves him, and subsequently assists him in the big finish, by throwing Mater up into the air, and then catching him and safely landing. As McQueen objects, Mater receives a recruitment call from the Falcon Hawks, and they arrive to pick him up.
==== Time Travel Mater ====
In Time Travel Mater, Mater travels back in time and finds himself face-to-face with Stanley, prior to Radiator Springs' foundation. Stanley asks him whether or not he would like to purchase a hubcap and, when Mater rejects the offer, Stanley decides to leave the oasis. Realizing what will happen if Stanley does not find Radiator Springs, Mater returns to the present to get Lightning, and the two go back to the past.
However, things do not go as planned - Lizzie begins to fall in love with Lightning, so the two have to make sure that Stanley and Lizzie meet and get married, in order to save the future from being rewritten. Lizzie and Stanley eventually marry, and Radiator Springs is successfully founded.
=== Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales ===
In Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales, Lightning appears in all of the sets of minigames. Notably, in the Mater the Greater levels, he suddenly appears up in the air, when the player is about to dive into a small paddling pool. Unlike in the short, he does not go across Carburetor Canyon, but like that, he does not make it into the pool.
=== Cars Toon: Tales from Radiator Springs ===
==== Hiccups ====
In Hiccups, Lightning acquires a case of the hiccups, and the others at Flo's V8 Café attempt to cure him. Guido suggests holding his breath, but Guido faints, and when Lightning starts to breathe in, he realizes the method was not successful. Luigi tries to scare the hiccups away, Sarge tries to order the hiccups away, and Sheriff tells Red to spray water into his mouth. However, the only method that worked was Sally's, who simply kisses him.
==== Spinning ====
In Spinning, when Luigi orders Guido to spin a sign outside of the tire shop, Lightning and the other Radiator Springs residents and passersby notice his talents, and a large crowd form.
==== The Radiator Springs 500½ ====
In The Radiator Springs 500½, McQueen is dressed as Stanley for a "Stanley Days" event in Radiator Springs, marking the anniversary of when Stanley founded Radiator Springs. However, a bunch of off-road racers, led by Sandy Dunes, turn up, coming to challenge McQueen to a race. He accepts their challenge when they make numerous insults about Stanley. At one point in the race, Sandy mistakes Mater's direction of going left at a herd of tractors for going right, so McQueen and all his opponents take the right path. Unaware that they went the wrong way, they all encounter a series of bumpy hills, a cactus patch, a cavern full of tailpipes, and a spooky forest full of corpses that scare them all the way back to Radiator Springs.
=== The World of Cars Online ===
In The World of Cars Online, Lightning could often be found outside of his racing headquarters, allowing players to shop inside of the store. He was also a playable character in the Lightning Storm McQueen minigame, in which he, with the help of Luke Pettlework, would fight against the Zurg Train.
=== Cars: Race-O-Rama ===
In Cars: Race-O-Rama, Lightning is helping out at the Doc Hudson Racing Academy and is racing against them in a competition at Radiator Springs Speedway. After Lightning sees how the green racers are behaving, he confronts them, only to find out that they are being trained by none other than Chick Hicks. As the story continues on, Lightning meets more of Chick's goons, who he befriends after they turn on Chick and apologize for their rude behavior.
In arcade mode, Lightning is unlocked as a playable character from the start of the game. Additionally, various other versions of Lightning can be unlocked, including his "beach racer" attire and his "off-road racer" attire.
=== Cars 2 ===
In Cars 2, the sequel to Cars, Lightning McQueen returns, but as the deuteragonist. In the film, having won his fourth Piston Cup, McQueen comes back to Radiator Springs to take a well-long break and spend the whole summer doing tons of activities with Mater. After just one day full of crazy activities, McQueen decides to just have a date with Sally for the evening, though Mater volunteers to be their waiter at the Wheel Well Motel. While fetching their drinks, Mater finds an Italian Formula One racer named Francesco Bernoulli, interviewed on the Mel Dorado Show bragging about being faster than McQueen any day and calls in to the show to have a talk with Francesco. McQueen catches eye, and upon hearing Francesco make insults about Mater himself, even learning from Sally that she also likes Francesco for his open wheels, takes over the call to talk things out with Francesco. Miles Axlerod, an oil billionaire who happened to be on the show too, invites McQueen to take part in his World Grand Prix competition, alongside Francesco, in order to promote his new renewable fuel, allinol, to the entire world which later turned out to be a plan to get rid of alternative fuel, and McQueen gladly agrees. Also, amidst advice from Sally, he decides to take Mater along, having not brought him to any of his races, and make him his crew chief, now that Doc had passed away.
In preparation, Ramone gives Lightning a fancy new paint job and spoiler, and Lightning, Mater, Luigi, Guido, Sarge, and Fillmore set off for Tokyo, which is where the welcome party is being hosted, as well as the first race. On the journey, McQueen and Mater are enjoying their time together: watching a game show on their plane's television, amazed by Tokyo's neon signs, and attending a karate show. At the opening ceremony, McQueen meets up with fellow racers Lewis Hamilton and Jeff Gorvette, but he soon notices that Mater has been acting the same since living in Radiator Springs and tries to explain that he should change his behavior sohe could get used to all the different things outside Radiator Springs. However, Mater does not completely understand, deciding to help McQueen by introducing him to Italian racer Francesco Bernoulli. Although reluctant by this, McQueen is forced to mention to Francesco that it is an honor for them to meet. They both agree to have a toast, but both of them make the same dedication of their own win in the initial race to Sally. Lightning is later asked to take the stage with Axlerod, but the interview is interrupted when Mater, who has just consumed a high amount of wasabi, bursts onto the stage, and drinks water from the display. Due to the spiciness of the food, he states that people should not eat the pistachio ice cream (actually wasabi). Embarrassed, Mater is thinking he has leaked oil, and quickly hurries to the bathroom to clean up. However, an American secret agent who is being assaulted places his tracking beacon onto Mater. British agent Holley Shiftwell meets Mater, and he thinks that she is asking him out on a date.
Moments before the first race begins, McQueen makes his usual preparations, closing his eyes and talking to himself about keeping focus, only for Francesco to immediately mock him by making the same preparations. Annoyed, McQueen once again comments about his goal to beat Francesco. As the race begins, McQueen makes his way up the field, getting up to second place and behind Francesco. However, McQueen is not able to get past Francesco until they come up to the dirt section, where Mater, who is working as McQueen's crew chief, gives him the advice of using the same trick Doc had taught him. With Francesco struggling to drive on the dirt, McQueen makes an easy pass at the following chicane and takes the lead. However, drama occurs as a couple of the racecars flame out, leaving fans wondering if Allinol is responsible for the accidents. Next, McQueen begins hearing random words from Mater through his team radio, unaware that Mater is actually talking to someone else. Still being confused by Mater's words, McQueen moves to the outside of the loop up to Rainbow Bridge, enabling Francesco to snatch the lead by mistake. Shocked by what happened, McQueen goes after Francesco and goes side-by-side with him as they head towards the finish line. However, Francesco is able to cross the finish line first, while McQueen suddenly spins out and finishes second.
Feeling disappointed about the race results, McQueen is left wondering why this all happened, as Francesco brags during the podium interview about making a move whenever someone makes a mistake. Just then, McQueen notices Mater driving to the pits, and when no one is looking, he drives out of the podium interview and meets up with Mater, asking him why he was talking nonsense throughout the race. Mater explains that he had been away from the track because he heard a woman's voice talking to him out of nowhere and directing him through the streets, where he had seen a couple of cars involved in a fight and using flame-throwers. McQueen becomes mad, telling Mater that it is all his fault for making him lose the race and that he should not have brought him along so he could spend time imagining a girlfriend and watching people using flame-throwers in fights. Realizing what McQueen meant, Mater tries to make up by suggesting talking to someone about what happened, but McQueen is growling, berating poor Mater by saying that he wouldn't need his help from him at all, poor Mater sadly gulped, and decides to return home, and heads to the Tokyo airport (unbeknownst to McQueen and his team). However, at the airport, Finn McMissile, who thinks Mater is a spy, leads him away from the line and introduces himself. However, two lemons named Grem and Acer, who are on the lookout for Finn, spot him, and the two make an escape on Siddeley, Finn's plane.
Meanwhile, Team McQueen finds a note from Mater saying that he has decided to head back home following his argument with McQueen, not wanting to be responsible ever again for making him lose any more races. However, McQueen begins to feel down, as he did not mean for Mater to leave. Despite being relieved that he would know Mater would be safe being in Radiator Springs, McQueen still feels down, thinking that he should not have been too hard on him. Arriving in Italy, McQueen and his team come across Luigi and Guido's old hometown, Carsoli, where the latter two are proud to be reunited with Uncle and Mama Topolino. The whole village hosts a celebration of Luigi and Guido's return, but Uncle Topolino begins to notice how down McQueen is. Having been told the whole thing by Luigi, Uncle Topolino explains to McQueen that everyone, even best friends, get into fights, as he remembers Luigi and Guido fighting all the time when they used to live with him.
Meanwhile, many of the fans of the World Grand Prix are still wondering if Allinol is safe, leading to Axlerod telling them that the fuel has been examined and is proven to be safe, leaving the second race to remain, taking place in Porto Corsa which is actually a lie to cover up his plot. However, Team McQueen begins to notice that McQueen feels sad. Fillmore advises him not to worry about his fuel, but McQueen admits that he is actually missing Mater. Furthermore, he gets insulted by Francesco saying that he is glad to be at home with his mother and fans. As the race goes ahead, Francesco soars into the lead as McQueen follows, trying to make numerous moves such as at the town's hairpin. On the final lap, McQueen temporarily leads, but as they approach the finish line, he and Francesco begin fighting for the lead, ending with McQueen crossing the finish line just ahead of Francesco. With this, McQueen celebrates his victory, but it immediately ends as numerous ambulances rush past, making McQueen and Francesco notice on the television screen that the other racecars have involved a large crash, created by Grem and Acer's electromagnetic pulse camera, which blows their engines. This leads to everyone now completely concerned about its safety, which makes Axlerod decide that the last race in London will still be held, but no longer to be run on Allinol.
McQueen, however, feels that it is impossible for something like that to occur, furthermore declaring that he will be using Allinol for the final race. Meanwhile, Mater, who has infiltrated the Lemons' meeting, watches in horror as they pick their next target, McQueen. Revealing himself, Mater uses his spy tools to escape. Soon, as a press liaison is leading him to the press, McQueen starts to hear Mater's voice from somewhere in the crowd. Taking another look, he sees a flash of Mater's roof in the distance, while the photographers try to get his attention. Trying to get closer, McQueen moves through the crowd, as the press liaison calls out to come back. However, as all the photographers finally move out of the way, McQueen instead finds a blue tow truck known as Ivan, saying that it was him who called out. As the press liaison takes him away, McQueen starts to get confused, pretty sure that he saw and heard Mater in the crowd. Before heading to London, McQueen contacts Radiator Springs so to talk to Mater, but he finds out that Mater had not been there at all. As he comes to his pit stall, he finds Sally and the rest of his friends present, having heard about what happened. While Sarge leaves with Sheriff to search for Mater, the rest of the townsfolk stay behind to assist McQueen in the race. However, still feeling concerned about Mater, McQueen is unsure about if he can keep his focus on the race, but Axlerod comes to thank him for his decision to use Allinol, encouraging him to prove to the world that they had been wrong about it being unsafe, only to manipulate him. Plus, Sally advises him to do the race for Mater.
As the race begins, Francesco gets into the lead as they head up to the Victoria Memorial, but after they go through Admiralty Arch, McQueen snatches the lead. As McQueen soon comes in for his pit stop, he is glad to find Mater already there. However, in a panic, Mater drives onto the racetrack, ordering McQueen to keep away from him. Misunderstanding, McQueen chases after Mater, trying to tell him that what he said before no longer matters. Still panicking, Mater yells out that "he's the bomb", making McQueen believe that he is saying he is excellent. Again, Mater yells out to keep away, but McQueen refuses to listen, not wanting to lose Mater again, and grabs onto his tow hook, which causes Mater to activate a pair of rocket jets, making the two friends zoom along the track's straight, past a shocked Francesco, and go off the circuit at the following corner, zooming through the streets of London. However, McQueen declines Mater's request to let go, still not understanding what is going on.
As the two friends finally screech to a halt, British secret agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell arrive, convincing McQueen that some thugs had planted a bomb on Mater so that they could try and kill them both, all because of McQueen's decision to use Allinol in the race. McQueen is left wondering who would do that to Mater, to which Finn brings in a captive Professor Zündapp, who angrily questions about his electromagnetic pulse generator not working right (though it was actually because McQueen was actually using Filmore's Organic Fuel not knowing it isn't allinol). McQueen is now left completely shocked by the fact that Zündapp had been having those same thugs try to kill him with the emitter when it was supposed to come into contact with allinol, only that he did not explode when the plan was being performed. Finn demands answers from Zündapp about how to deactivate the bomb, and as the bomb begins to tick, Zündapp reveals that the only way to turn it off is to get a voice command from the person who turned it on in the first place. To make matters worse, the thugs, who reveal themselves as lemons, block any chance of McQueen, Mater, Finn, and Holley escaping, but they are soon taken out by McQueen and Mater's friends. Sarge arrives with the British Military who presumably take the villains away.
With the lemons arrested, everyone tries to figure out a way to get rid of the bomb. Thinking of only one option, Guido makes an attempt to unfasten the bolts, but his wheel gun would not fit. Then, Mater figures out who had put the bomb on, but he does not reveal it straight away, worried that no one will believe him, but McQueen encourages him, telling him to just be his regular self and that anyone not believing him should instead change themselves, not Mater himself. With no time to lose, Mater grabs McQueen and heads off to Buckingham Palace, where Axlerod is waiting with the Queen of England. With the Queen's bodyguards preventing Mater from getting any closer, Mater explains to them, McQueen, Finn and Holley that Axlerod is the one who activated the bomb, remembering that the bomb is attached with the same bolts used on an old engine shown on a photo that Finn and Holley had got, also that old engines contain oil. Axlerod, however, tries to tell everyone that none of this is true by lying, but Mater keeps on talking, saying that Axlerod is the leader of Professor Zündapp and the lemons, trying to make the world dismiss alternative fuel and buy regular oil from a secret oil reserve, because they had been laughed at for their entire lives. As the bomb gets closer to detonation, everyone braces themselves, while Axlerod tries to take Mater's comments as lies by lying that he is crazy, but as he is encountered by Mater, he is forced to make a voice command, which successfully turns off the bomb, and proves that Mater was right about everything.
To congratulate his bravery, the Queen makes Mater a knight, which also makes him as popular as his best friend McQueen. As they arrive back in Radiator Springs, Mater tells McQueen and their friends about how he met Finn and Holley and helped them to learn information about Professor Zündapp and the lemons. Just then, Finn and Holley arrive, paying Mater and his friends a visit. McQueen is also given the time to ask how come he did not explode when the lemons were using their EMP emitter on him in London, but Finn and Holley point out that they do not know the reason, but also found out that Allinol was just gasoline upgraded by Axlerod to blow up when coming into contact with an electromagnetic pulse. McQueen then begins to realize that Fillmore had told him back in Italy that Allinol was safe, and everyone assumes that something had been done to McQueen's supply of Allinol before the race. Fillmore does note that before the race, McQueen's supply was replaced by his own organic fuel, but that Sarge actually did it, not Fillmore.
Later, McQueen invites all of the World Grand Prix racers to compete in Radiator Springs' unofficial Grand Prix, as a way to treat them to a great race, even knowing that thanks to the fate of the World Grand Prix, still no one knows who is the fastest in the world. Before lining up on the grid, McQueen has Francesco meet Sally, who is honored by Francesco's comment about McQueen being very lucky to be racing, especially when racing against his rivals. Not long before the race, McQueen adds to Sally to wish him luck, to which Sally knows he will be lucky enough to win. This time, McQueen and Francesco are calmer towards each other, both having grins as they battle for the lead, while the other racers are enjoying it. Not long after, Mater joins in, having been given his rocket jets by Finn and Holley, and he and McQueen happily race each other to the end of the Radiator Springs Grand Prix, as Finn and Holley leave for their next mission.
=== Cars 2: The Video Game ===
In Cars 2: The Video Game, Lightning is a playable character, and is one of the ten characters unlocked from the beginning of the game. He also has two other skins, Carbon Fiber Lightning, which can be unlocked by earning the "Agent - Third Class" crest, and Radiator Lightning, which can be unlocked by earning the "Runway Pancake" crest. Additionally, Lightning has two more downloadable costumes that can be purchased from the Xbox or PlayStation stores, Dragon Lightning and Daredevil Lightning and his exclusive, which is only available on PS3: Lightyear Lightning.
=== Cars: Fast as Lightning ===
In Cars: Fast as Lightning, Lightning is the final unlockable playable character, though two races must be completed while playing as him in the tutorial of the game. When he is unlocked, Lightning's Pit and the Doc Hudson Statue will be unlocked for use on tracks and in town.
Prior to being unlocked, Lightning will join Mater and Lizzie in giving the player missions to complete. In contrast to Mater's, which revolve primarily around town-related tasks, Lightning's revolve around race-related tasks, such as completing a set number of tricks in races, or building a certain number of objects on a character's racetrack.
=== Cars 3 ===
In Cars 3, Lightning McQueen returns as the protagonist.
By Cars 3, Lightning has been racing in the Piston Cup for over 10 years. He has struck up friendships with fellow racers Cal Weathers - who is now racing for Dinoco with his uncle Strip "The King" Weathers as his crew chief - and Bobby Swift. Tex Dinoco would still like McQueen to race for him, even courting him within earshot of Cal. During the season, a newcomer named Jackson Storm seemingly comes out of nowhere and wins. McQueen later congratulates him only for Storm to state it was an honor to "finally beat him", later telling his crew that he "struck a nerve", showing that he likes to use emotional manipulation to get into his opponents' heads. Also, Storm uses the latest technology to train, making him a highly skilled precision racer.
The season goes on with Jackson continuing to rack up wins, and more advanced, rookie racers begin supplanting the older generation. Cal chooses to retire, telling McQueen how much he valued their friendship. Bobby is fired by his sponsor and replaced with Danny Swervez. On the next race, McQueen gets increasingly desperate to win, but fortunately Guido is still fast at pit stops and gets him back out, with Sally and Mater cheering him on. Storm continues to mock him on the track, passing him. Swervez and Chase Racelott, another next-gen racer, also pass McQueen. Lightning pushes himself as hard as he can, but this causes his right rear tire to blow out, his overworked engine finally giving out, and he loses control. Lightning slams into the track's outside wall at the exit of turn four, is sent airborne, and he suffers a horrible rollover crash, leaving him critically injured, knocked out, and barely alive on the track's apron at the entrance of turn one. Sally, Mater, Guido and Luigi go out to see if he's okay while emergency responders check on him. Four months later, McQueen has recovered and is back in Radiator Springs. He's in Doc's old garage watching footage of the crash that ended his career. Sally then checks on him. Lightning doesn't want to end up like Doc who was forced to retire. Sally tells him not to fear failure, reminding him that he has a chance. She resorts to some reverse psychology to get him going. McQueen tells all his friends he intends to keep racing. After Ramone re-paints McQueen in his original racing color scheme, Mack takes him, Guido and Luigi to the new Rust-eze Racing Center. He's surprised to learn that Dusty and Rusty sold Rust-eze to billionaire Sterling, who appears to be a big fan. He has McQueen fitted with a new suit which tracks his speed and vital signs. Sterling shows off all the high-tech training equipment, including the most advanced simulator available.
McQueen is introduced to Cruz Ramirez, a friendly and enthusiastic trainer who first riles McQueen up by saying he's an impostor, but this was quickly shown as a motivational tactic. Cruz trains McQueen, who's itching to try the simulator. Unfortunately, it goes badly when McQueen rams into various objects, catches on fire, flies off the restraints and crashes into the screen. Sterling then calls him into his office, showing him lots of merchandise with his likeness. McQueen realizes that Sterling doesn't want him racing anymore, so he makes a wager: if McQueen wins his next race, he retires whenever he wants; if not, he'll sell all the merchandise he can. McQueen, Guido, Luigi and Mack head to Fireball Beach to train, with Cruz following them to help.
Cruz will run alongside him using her digital assistant Hamilton to gauge his top speed but will have to stay very close. This proves easier said than done since Cruz doesn't know how to race on sand. It takes until sunset to get it right. McQueen's top speed is topped out at 198 mph, which is still slower than Storm. He decides to head to Thunder Hollow which has a dirt track, but when Luigi gets worried about the press finding him there, Mack assures him he can give McQueen a disguise.
When they get there, McQueen is covered in mud to mask his appearance, going by the name Chester Whipplefilter. They realize too late that it's a Demolition Derby, and Cruz now has to take part too. The champion is a monster school bus named Miss Fritter. Both McQueen and Cruz barely avoid getting hit, but McQueen has to protect Cruz from Fritter. Cruz wins the derby, but accidentally trips Mr. Drippy over and inadvertently washes McQueen off, blowing his cover.
An angry McQueen lashes out at Cruz in Mack's trailer, complaining that he spent the entire day having to take care of her. He states that he has to win his next race to continue in the sport, saying she wouldn't understand since she's not a racer. At the end of his rant, McQueen slams his front tire againt the trailer wall hard enough to knock over Cruz's trophy and break it. Feeling hurt by McQueen's words and actions, Cruz orders Mack to pull over and angrily snaps back at Lightning. She never wanted to be a trainer, but a racer like him. She got to her first race but felt she didn't belong and left. Lightning admits - at Cruz's urging - that he never felt he didn't belong. She wishes she knew what that felt like. Cruz drives off on her own.
Mack spends the night sleeping under a bridge while McQueen watches TV. Footage of the demolition derby plays. Also, analyst Natalie Certain reports that Storm has set a new record for fastest lap, making him the heavy favorite at 95.2%. McQueen calls Mater who fortunately was still awake. Mater initially can't come up with good advice until McQueen says he wishes he could talk to Doc again. Mater makes an off-handed comment that the car who taught Doc would know more about racing than him. With that, McQueen catches up to Cruz and convinces her to come with him to Doc's hometown of Thomasville.
Once arriving, Lightning and Cruz get a look at the dirt track where Doc used to race. They meet Doc's mentor Smokey, who takes them to the Cotter Pin to meet fellow racing legends River Scott, Junior Johnson, and Louise Nash. McQueen tells Smokey that he wishes he could've seen Doc during his racing days when he was at his happiest. Smokey tells McQueen that he never heard from Doc after he moved to Radiator Springs, but one day he started getting letters from him. Smokey shows McQueen a wall with pictures of McQueen and Doc, revealing that coaching Lightning was the happiest time of his life. Smokey tells him he can't be faster than Storm, but he can be smarter than him, as evidenced by making it through the derby without a scratch.
Since McQueen missed the qualifiers, he'll have to start from behind and Jackson will start in front. Cruz has a spoiler installed and black tape is used to make her resemble Storm so she can be a "sparring partner" for McQueen. The two will race on the speedway with the latter only having three laps to overtake her, but he can't. They use other techniques to train: dodging thrown bales of hay and other obstacles, maneuvering through a tractor stampede, and driving through a forest at night without their headlights on. The two get the hang of the exercises. While night driving, McQueen's suit gets torn off by the trees, giving him back his original racing colors.
During this, Lightning and Cruz watch old footage of Doc's races. They see that he used the drafting technique to gain speed and see him use the barricade to flip over another car who tried to ram him into the wall. On their final day of training, McQueen manages to pull ahead on the speedway, but Cruz still wins. They have to head to Florida for the race.
While Sheriff, Lizzie, and Red stayed behind, the rest of Radiator Springs arrived in Florida to cheer McQueen on, with Smokey acting as his crew chief. McQueen starts out last but gains ground. Sterling orders Cruz to leave. This doesn't sit well with McQueen, who hears the conversation, and wants her back. After a wreck occurs, Lightning makes the call that Cruz will finish the race for him. She is quickly prepared by Ramone, Luigi, and Guido while Mater keeps Sterling away. With the #95, racing tires, and a spoiler, Cruz officially joins the race. Through Smokey, McQueen relays advice to her but takes over as her crew chief. Cruz puts all the training to great use and makes it near the top. While Storm is in first, he purposely falls back to second place as Cruz makes it to third place. He resorts to psychological warfare against her, but McQueen tells her Jackson sees her as a threat or he would not be using such tactics.
The final lap comes. Cruz is right behind Jackson who cannot shake her. Storm rams her into the wall but she uses Doc's flipping move to escape and take the lead. Cruz wins the race to the delight of the crowd.
Everyone congratulates her on the win. As Lightning is about to accept his fate as Sterling's product, he checks the scoreboard to see that he won the race alongside Cruz. At the end, McQueen decides to hold a friendly exhibition race with Cruz for all of their friends, with McQueen sporting Doc's racing number and color, continuing Doc's legacy.
=== Cars 3: Driven to Win ===
Lightning is one of the six playable characters, the other five being Cruz Ramirez, Mater, Sally, Ramone, and Guido, who are available from the start in Cars 3: Driven to Win. His "Fabulous" paint job was also made available in a free update, which was released to coincide with the cinematic release of Cars 3.
=== Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool ===
In Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool, McQueen and Cruz Ramirez watch a commercial for Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool. Later after watching the commercial, McQueen notices one of his trophies toppled and broke, explaining to Cruz that going to Miss Fritter's school program is too dangerous to attend.
=== Pixar Popcorn ===
In Unparalleled Parking, McQueen plays a parking game with his friends. He is the first one to pass it as well.
In Dancing with the Cars, McQueen and Sally come to Flo's V8 Café and find themselves dancing with their friends.
=== Cars on the Road ===
In Cars on the Road, Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater go on a cross-country road trip. The episodes are filled with lots of fun new characters, imaginative destinations as well as old friends checking in along the way.
=== Planes ===
In Planes, he appears with Mater in the commercials introducing the Planes characters.
=== Planes: Fire & Rescue ===
In Planes: Fire & Rescue, while he does not make a physical appearance, an image of Lightning can be seen on the sports-related newspaper that Dusty and his friends are looking at. This image is actually the same promotional artwork that was released of Lightning in his Cars 2 attire.
=== Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure ===
In Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, Lightning is an unlockable playable character, that can be unlocked by obtaining all four Buddy Coins that are hidden in the three Cars levels.
He also appears in the first Cars level, Fancy Drivin', where he is looking for a new car for his racing team, which is the player, who must compete in various challenges, including the Tow Mater Fancy Drivin' Challenge, in which the player follows Mater throughout his tricky course. Impressed with the player's performance, Lightning accepts the player on his team, and the level is completed.
=== Disney Infinity ===
In Disney Infinity, Lightning is one of the four playable characters from the Cars franchise, and his figure can be obtained with Holley Shiftwell's in the Cars Play Set Pack. Like the other characters, Lightning possesses all capabilities that a non-car character has while driving inside of a ground vehicle, including accelerating, braking, reversing, drifting, and boosting, though all Cars characters have one more boost segment than ground vehicles do, for a grand total of four. He can also tow other players with a tow hook. If attempting to tow a non-car character, that character will ride on a small wagon behind Lightning.
Lightning's packs and tools consist of various weapons, which are the same ones that are used during battle races, including Machine Guns, Missile Launchers, and more.
In the Cars Play Set, Lightning's toy chests will unlock the Lightning McQueen Paint Job, as well as three random toys pertaining to Cars, including cast members, set pieces, skies, and more, all of which can be used in the Toy Box. Lightning's unique adventure is Lightning's Collector Course, in which Lightning must navigate through a large stunt course, while obtaining a set number of collectibles, which changes with each difficulty level, in the given time limit.
=== Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition ===
In Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition, Lightning returns alongside all other Disney Infinity characters from the first title, though he has not received any major changes, apart from receiving four skill trees, which feature abilities that can be upgraded to be improved. Additionally, Lightning can now be leveled up to level 20, as opposed to level 15, as in the previous game.
To obtain the Lightning McQueen Paint Job, Fillmore, Flo, Ramone, and The Radiator Cap toys, the player must simply take ownership of Lightning for the first time.
=== Disney Infinity: 3.0 Edition ===
In Disney Infinity: 3.0 Edition, Lightning makes another appearance as a playable character, and has received no noticeable changes from his previous appearance in Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition. When the player takes ownership of Lightning for the first time, the Lightning McQueen Paint Job will be unlocked, along with the Fillmore, Flo, Ramone, and The Radiator Cap toys.
=== Other appearances ===
As the main character of the Cars series, Lightning appears in nearly every book, comic, and magazine ever written, most of which he has a lead role in.
== Cars Land ==
A model based on Lightning McQueen makes two different appearances in Cars Land. In one, he is driving through Radiator Springs, talking with the guests. There, he appeared in his Cars 2 attire until 2017 when he was changed to his Cars 3 attire.
Lightning's other appearance is in the Radiator Springs Racers attraction. In the ride, after the guests escape Frank, Lightning and Sally greet them and direct them towards either Luigi's Casa Della Tires for new tires or to Ramone's House of Body Art for a new paint job. After the race, he and Mater congratulate the guests on their performance and state that "you can't win if you don't race!", among other phrases.
== General information ==
=== Physical description ===
Lightning is a hand-built racing car, designed especially for racing purposes. Early reference sources, including the Car Finder Game and Meet the Cars, identify him as a 2006 handmade "one of a kind" race car; the later 2017 edition of MTC updated this to "2006 Custom-Built Piston Cup Racer." He is a mix of a stock car and a more curvaceous LMP endurance racer. He has modifications, like a red spoiler, and does not have headlights, only stickers, which according to the Cars Magazine comics, are applied with Superglue. He has coil-over shocks with tubular A-arm front suspension, a solid axle rear end and vented disc brakes at all four wheels. He also has air flaps on his roof to prevent flipping. His engine is a 5.8 liter NASCAR V8, with 750 horsepower, and a 4-speed manual transmission. In Cars, Cars 2, Cars Toons, and Cars on the Road, his 0-60 speed is 3.2 seconds, and his top speed is 200 mph. In Cars 3, his 0-60 speed is four seconds, and his top speed is 198 mph, but this is likely just because his speed was recorded on sand. On asphalt, his top speed is more likely a full 200 mph. In the essential guide for Cars 2, McQueen's top speed is claimed as 220 mph/354 km/h, which is actually the top speed of Francesco Bernoulli, when in reality, McQueen's top speed in Cars 2 is 200 mph/322 km/h. However, another site claimed that McQueen's top speed was 205 mph/330 km/h.[citation needed]
In the first film, Lightning's rear bumper is yellow. This follows NASCAR's tradition of putting yellow rookie stripes on rookie drivers' cars.
Many fans claim that he either resembles a Dodge Viper, Ford GT40, or a Chevrolet Corvette C6. McQueen's appearance bears a very little resemblance to modern NASCAR sedans. However, McQueen's design comes from a combination of many cars including the aforementioned GT40s and Corvette along with the Dodge Charger, older Chevrolet Camaro models, and the C1 Corvette.
In Cars, Lightning wears his Rust-eze paint scheme. He is painted red, with an orange and yellow lightning bolt design on his doors, along with the number "95" and a variety of racing sponsor stickers. He has the Rust-eze logo on his hood, as well as on his spoiler and rear fenders. On his yellow rear bumper is the inscription "Medicated Ointment". In Radiator Springs, McQueen is repainted to a darker, and more metallic shade of red with a white oval on his doors and a little, yellow lightning bolt on it, similar to a late 1950s era Corvette. His spoiler, logos, and number were also removed. Before the final race, he regains his spoiler and is repainted back to his Piston Cup paint job. In the epilogue scene and credits of Cars, Lightning is again shown in the maroon and white paint job, but now with the number 95 painted on his doors and roof, surrounded by a white circle, and he also has Rust-eze logos and some stickers, though his rear bumper now lacks any logos. In Cars Toons, he continues to use it on daily basis, but according to Cars 3 flashbacks, McQueen often switches this paint job to the original Rust-eze one.
At the beginning of Cars 2, Lightning is shown in his old Piston Cup design; he is no longer painted maroon, but instead in his old red color that was used for his first paint job. On his doors, there is a modified lightning silhouette, painted in deeper red, the yellow lightning bolt from the white oval is bigger and now a big "95" placed on it. The Hudson Hornet Piston Cup logo is added to his doors, also there were only three sponsor stickers. Later in the film, Lightning receives an entirely new design, which brings back his original lightning bolt pattern while changing it to look more like a flame, the Rust-eze logos are replaced with the Piston Cup emblem, and the "WGP 95" stickers are added on the doors. He gets a new spoiler with World Grand Prix logo on top and flames on sides. His headlight stickers were replaced by real working headlights. In the final scene of Cars 2 seen, that all his World Grand Prix stickers, except "WGP 95" and on rear is now seen a sticker, saying "Ka-Ciao, Francesco". During Cars Toons, he has a "transition" paint job, Lightning's spoiler now has a Radiator Springs logo on top, Francesco sticker was replaced by Hudson Hornet Piston Cup logo, on his rear bumper is now seen his signature and his bolt, sponsor stickers were regained at the place of "WGP 95". The paint job is called "RS Team McQueen", it's also his main paint job in Cars: Fast as Lightning.
McQueen's design received another update in Cars 3, and now it mostly resembles the original first one, but with rebranded Piston Cup and Rust-eze logos. His old spoiler was regained, the number 95 is now seen under his right headlight, on his hood is now seen a lightning bolt with Rust-eze logo. After his crash, McQueen was painted primer with red "95" on his doors. When Lightning was brought to Rust-eze Racing Center, Ramone repainted McQueen back into 2016 Piston Cup paint job, but without lightning bolt on his hood old Rust-eze logos and with the WGP-like flaming bolt. At the Rust-eze Racing Center he receives an electronic suit heat-shrunk onto him with its own decal scheme. The yellow lightning bolt design with Rust-eze ghost pattern on his doors now extends all the way to his rear fender, and large Rust-eze logos are now present on his rear end, spoiler and hood, and the sponsor stickers disappeared somewhat resembling the paintjobs of the Next-Gens minus the sponsor logos. However, the suit is accidentally torn to shreds during training at Thomasville and Lightning competed in next race in Ramone's paint job. When McQueen becomes Cruz Ramirez' crew chief, he entirely receives a new paint job, inspired by the Fabulous Hudson Hornet's appearance. Now he is painted blue, on his roof seen four yellow 95 numbers and one on his rear fenders, old yellow Rust-eze wordmarks on his hood and spoiler, instead of lightning bolts. On his doors, it is now written "Fabulous Lightning McQueen". The Hudson Hornet logo replaces the Rust-eze logo on the rear and his rear bumper reads "95 For Doc Hudson", the stickers and 95 under his right headlight was removed.
Based on outside information, McQueen could potentially have a top speed of 225 mph+, based around McQueen's multiple altercations with Francesco, where he is seen on relative terms with him despite having a lower acceleration. This reinforces the idea that McQueen has a higher stable top speed than Francesco, who respectively has a top speed of 220mph (Being based off an F1 racer and being presented as the fastest F1 racer in the series, making this a severe lowball). Using calculations, McQueen can be anywhere from 5-10 mph faster than Francesco's top speed.
** Top speed statistic 250 mph is based around McQueen matching pace with Tow Mater with rockets. Using calculations, Mater speeding past Francesco can be anywhere from 30-80 mph faster than him. McQueen at the end of the movie is seen keeping even with Mater despite both of them going all out in competitive spirit.
=== Personality and traits ===
Lightning is kind, positive, courageous, and brave, and enjoys having fun and spending time with his friends, especially Mater. Prior to his arrival in Radiator Springs, Lightning was cocky and self-centered, only caring about two things: winning and the pride that comes with it, though he never cheated like Chick Hicks. He didn't go a pit stop simply to win the Dinoco 400, which actually ended up in a 3-way tie which Mack congratulated him with. At the time, Lightning had no friends besides Mack and Harv, leaving him with limited social skills. Regardless, he was still a popular name in the racing world and was constantly being interviewed by the Press and admired by fans, much to his liking. When two fangirls drove up to him, they were taken away by security, after Lightning simply said, "I love being me." Though the Radiator Springs residents were not very fond of him at first, they later befriended Lightning, and McQueen learned why it is important to have good friends. Lightning established Radiator Springs as his home base, and the wide publicity sparked interest in the town, which was soon put back on the map.
Lightning's best friend is Mater, whom he met when he woke up in the Impound. While Lightning did not like Mater at first, he began to like him after he took Lightning tractor tipping in the middle of the night. Mater and McQueen do several things together, including going tractor tipping regularly, driving backwards, driving along the Ornament Valley railroad tracks without tire treads, and occasionally racing each other. However, the two have their fair share of fights; most notably when Mater accidentally threw Lightning off track during the first race of the World Grand Prix, due to Lightning mistaking his banter with Holley Shiftwell for advice. Angry, Lightning yells at Mater and tells him he neither needs nor wants his help anymore. Saddened by this, Mater decides to return home to avoid making Lightning lose another race and apologizes to Lighting through a note. However, at the end of the film, Lightning and Mater make up, and together they expose Miles Axlerod and his plan.
Lightning's primary interest when he is not spending quiet time with his friends is racing. As a famous Piston Cup race car himself, Lightning has a remarkable talent for it, and enjoys practicing and competing in road races whenever he is not out on the Piston Cup track. McQueen has many formidable opponents, the many inhabitants of Radiator Springs, a group of British and Mexican rivals, various allies of Chick Hicks, international superstars, and other Piston Cup racers, notably Chick Hicks and, for a short time, The King. Lightning's obsession with victory and fame came to a close once he remembered the words of his mentor, Doc Hudson: "It's just an empty cup." Lightning gave up his win at the tie-breaker race to help The King finish his last race. Lightning still enjoys spending quiet time with his friends, especially Sally Carrera, his girlfriend. Some of their favorite activities are taking a drive through the beautiful scenery of Tailfin Pass and enjoying dates at the Wheel Well Motel and other locations in Carburetor County.
=== Powers and abilities ===
As a world-famous race car, Lightning is incredibly gifted, and can perform a variety of stunts to assist him in winning his races. In terms of statistics, Lightning is usually portrayed with having outstanding acceleration, speed, handling, stability, agility, and boost, the latter of which he learned from his friend Fillmore, and in Cars: The Videogame and Cars: Mater-National Championship, he has three boost tanks, which he has earned throughout his time in Radiator Springs.
Lightning can also tilt, which allows him to take turns sharper, as well as squeeze by opponents, which he once did in a Piston Cup race, where he used the wall to squeeze through the space between it and another racer. He can also jump, which allows him to hop over obstacles and other cars. McQueen is a very talented drifter as well; he learned this skill from Doc Hudson, who used to be a famous dirt track racer. Drifting, also called power-sliding in some Cars media, allows Lightning to take sharp turns without losing control and driving off of the track. His top speed is 200 mph (322 kph), with 750 HP and a 0-60 of 3.2 seconds.
In all three installments of the Disney Infinity series, Lightning also has a tow hook, which can be used to tow other vehicles, a skill that is utilized for some missions in the Cars Play Set. If Lightning uses this ability on a player or toy that is not a car, such as Jack Sparrow, they will ride in a small wooden wagon that Lightning can pull around. In Cars 2: The Video Game and the Disney Infinity games; McQueen can also use weapons if he picks up one while racing. When using a Machine Gun or Missile Launcher, the compartments on his sides will open, allowing Lightning to fire them. In Mater's tall tales from the Cars Toons episodes, Lightning has been shown with a variety of other abilities, including:
* Fighting Mr. aka Chick Hicks and his henchcars (Agent Mater)
* Performing stunts, although he did not successfully jump the Carburetor Canyon (Mater the Greater)
* Fighting Bulldozers and angering them with his red paint job (El Materdor)
* Possessing skills that resemble that of a dragon, and defeats Kabuto's Ninjas with little to no trouble (Tokyo Mater)
* Singing and playing the keyboard (Heavy Metal Mater)
* Monster Truck wrestling (Monster Truck Mater)
* Exploring space (Moon Mater)
* Taking care of crime (Mater Private Eye)
* Performing stunts in the air (Air Mater)
=== Relationships ===
==== Friends ====
During his rookie season, Lightning had a rather small selection of friends. Though Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze, along with other rusty cars who idolize McQueen, acted kindly to him, he still dismissed them and did not enjoy making live appearances or interacting with them at all. However, Lightning did have one friend; his transporter and teammate Mack, who had befriended him during Lightning's early racing days, when he was still searching for a new sponsor. However, when Lightning was forced to stay in Radiator Springs after accidentally ripping up the road, though initially hesitant toward being associated with the town's residents, Lightning later befriended all of the cars. Many of the residents, including Luigi, Guido, Fillmore and Sarge, would later become part of McQueen's racing team, while Flo, Ramone, Lizzie, Red, and Sheriff, help him out on various occasions. However, Lightning's closest relationships include Mater and Sally, as well as Doc Hudson, prior to his death. Mater is Lightning's best friend, and the two enjoy participating in various activities with each other, including Tractor Tipping, messing around on the Ornament Valley railroad tracks, and sharing stories with each other.
==== Love interests ====
However, Lightning's closest relationships include Mater and Sally, as well as Doc Hudson, prior to his death. Sally, however, is Lightning's romantic interest. Upon meeting her in the courtroom, Lightning began to develop a crush on her, and the two would later begin to date at the end of Cars. Some of their favorite pastimes together including taking drives through Tailfin Pass, as well as enjoying a quiet evening at the Wheel Well Motel.
==== Rivals ====
Lightning's main rival, in Cars, is Chick Hicks, a rude, selfish and dirty Piston Cup race car that has an intense rivalry with Lightning. Despite Chick's win at the 2005 tie-breaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway, his victory was overshadowed by McQueen's action of helping The King to the finish line, who had previously been damaged by Chick. During the following season, Lightning and Chick's rivalry eventually inspired the Radiator Springs Grand Prix, a three-race event hosted in each of the three Carburetor County areas, with the final Piston Cup race of the season to finish it off.
Another racing rival that Lightning had is Giovanni, although the two are friendly rivals, as seen in Cars: Mater-National Championship.
Another racing rival that Lightning had bad blood with was Francesco Bernoulli, although the two would later overcome their differences and become friends, as evidenced in installments such as Cars 2: The Video Game, Cars: Fast as Lightning, and all three installments of the Disney Infinity series. After trash-talking Lightning on live television, Lightning and Francesco found themselves against each other in the World Grand Prix, in which Francesco managed to beat Lightning in the first race, but McQueen won at the following race, with the third and final event having no defined victor.
In Cars 3, Jackson Storm, another rude, selfish and dirty Piston Cup race car, is the main rival of McQueen. Storm makes it clear from the start that he wants McQueen out of the sport as he sarcastically calls him "Champ" and even brags that it takes all he has to beat him despite him beating McQueen with ease. During the Los Angeles 500, the final race of the 2016 season, Storm tells McQueen to enjoy his retirement which puts McQueen into shock and causes him to struggle to the point of crashing while keeping up with the Next-Gens.
=== Occupations ===
Lightning is a Piston Cup champion race car known all over the world for his quick and skillful style of racing. He has won 7 Piston Cups over the years and is currently working on his eighth. After his fourth win, he was accepted into the World Grand Prix, a championship involving 11 racers, each from a different part of the world and racing series. After he finished, he presumably went back to the Piston Cup. In 2017, he became Cruz Ramirez' crew chief. In 2022, he became an actor, a road rumbler, and a cryptid hunter. Additionally, Mater has told many tall tales that have featured McQueen in different professions than he usually can be seen in. Some of them include:
* Superhero as seen in Agent Mater 
* Stunt expert as seen in Mater the Greater
* Bulldozer fighter as seen in El Materdor
* Rock singer as seen in Heavy Metal Mater
* Monster truck wrestler as seen in Monster Truck Mater
* Autonaut as seen in Moon Mater
* Detective as seen in Mater Private Eye
* Air stunt plane as seen in Air Mater
=== Aliases ===
Throughout the series, McQueen has been seen with various different names and appearances, notably in the Cars Toons shorts/comic.
In Agent Mater, Lightning was dubbed as Lightning Storm McQueen.
In El Materdor, McQueen is a bulldozer fighter named El McQueen.
In Tokyo Mater, McQueen goes under the name of Lightning Dragon McQueen, a drift car that helps Mater during his race with Kabuto.
In Monster Truck Mater, Lightning's stage name is "Frightening McMean", dubbed by the Referee Pitty after he mishears what McQueen says.
In Mater Private Eye, Lt. McQueen is the detective alias of McQueen.
In Air Mater, once Lightning joins the Falcon Hawks with Mater after one of the members is damaged, Lightning is called Lightning McQueen Hawk as to fit in with the names of the other Falcon Hawks.
He is usually referred to by Sally as "Stickers", because of him originally having headlight stickers rather than normal headlights. However, there are a couple of times when Sally refers to him by his actual name, as she says McQueen's surname when the press is in Radiator Springs in the first film, and she says McQueen's first name while he is dreaming of racing in the Radiator Springs Grand Prix in Cars: The Videogame, along with mentioning to Mia and Tia about the winner of the Sally's Sunshine Circuit taking a drive with him.
He is occasionally referred to as "buddy" by Mater, who also at one time briefly calls him "Mr. I Can't Turn on Dirt" in the first film, when he thinks about going tractor tipping.
=== Crew ===
Throughout the franchise McQueen has had a pretty expansive team. Before the events of Cars, McQueen had three crew chiefs, one which was named Chuck. In Cars, McQueen's crew consisted of just pitties with one being called Chuck, the name of McQueen's previous crew chief however he claimed that his name was not Chuck. His team of pitties soon left him due to his arrogance as a racer leaving him with no one to work with him besides Mack, McQueen's hauler. During the tie-breaker race at the Los Angeles Speedway, Lightning gained a new team consisting of the folks from Radiator Springs. The most notable ones were Doc Hudson and Guido. Doc served as McQueen's crew chief for 4 years until the events between Cars: Race-O-Rama and Cars 2, where he passed away leaving him once again without a crew chief. However, during Cars 2 McQueen's crew changed once again for the World Grand Prix. The lineup this time was Mater as the crew chief, Luigi as the tire expert, Guido as the pitty, Fillmore as the fuel expert and Sarge as the suspension expert as well. Mater left Team McQueen after the Tokyo race due to him causing McQueen to lose only leaving 4 members left. During the London race McQueen's team got bigger, however, it was for emotional support rather than to help him during the race. During Cars 3, McQueen's team remains the same but during the Florida 500 Smokey was McQueen's temporary crew chief until Cruz joined the race and McQueen kept telling him to say ridiculous things to her which caused Smokey to step down and put McQueen into the spot of being the crew chief for the first time. Sometime after Cars 3, Mater became McQueen's crew chief, again.
== List of appearances ==
: For this subject's list of appearances, see Lightning McQueen/Appearances.
== Profiles and statistics ==
: Main article: List of Lightning McQueen profiles and statistics
== Trivia ==
* In the first official teaser trailer of Cars 2, for unknown reasons, Lightning McQueen has his Rust-eze customization on, which never appeared in the sequel. It may be because the new paint job was not finalized at the time of the release of the teaser trailer.
** Likewise, in the first teaser trailer for Cars 3, McQueen is sporting the original Rust-eze logo when he crashes, unlike the final film with the same scene. His first paint job in the film likely wasn't finalized either at the time of the trailer's release.
*** The said scene in the trailer also takes place in day, instead of night unlike in the film as well.
* In Toy Story 3, in the Caterpillar Room at Sunnyside Daycare, the viewer can see one of the kids with a white T-shirt with red sleeves and has in the middle of the shirt the 95 racing number with the lightning bolt of Lightning McQueen. A toy similar to Lightning can also be seen.
* Lightning McQueen is unique among other Pixar protagonists, as he does technically both lose and win. He gave up his chance to win the Piston Cup so he can help The King finish his last race, even it meant allowing Chick Hicks to win, but it was more of a lesson for him as he learned that helping others is more important than winning races and that his heroic actions made him earn applause from the crowd. Therefore, despite losing, but his good sportsmanship makes him the true winner of the eyes of his fans and his new friends from Radiator Springs, due to the actions of Chick Hicks.
* After Lightning's redesign in Cars 2, he has working headlights instead of stickers. However, Sally still calls him "Stickers".
* Fabulous Lightning McQueen's Mattel diecast prototype had the Dinoco logo on his hood.
* In Tokyo, an advertisement for a vacuum cleaner named "Lightning McClean" is seen.
* In Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, Lightning McQueen appears in his Cars 2 attire. However, in his beta model his hood bears the logo for Rust-eze on it instead of the Piston Cup emblem. But this was fixed later though.
* His famous catchphrase, "Ka-chow!", is said briefly by Mayday in Planes: Fire & Rescue, when he is showing some Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment on his bumper (although the DVD and Blu-Ray subtitles mistake it as if Mayday was sneezing instead of saying, "Ka-chow!").
** It is possible that this could be a pun of "Ah-choo!"
* In Cars, Lightning has fourteen different paint variants, ranging from different amounts of dirt and dust to his "Dinoco", "Cruising" and "Radiator Springs" paint jobs.
*Early concept arts suggest that he was originally blue, instead of red.
* Lightning McQueen makes a reappearance as one of many extra playable Pixar characters in Lego The Incredibles.
* McQueen's paint job seen in Cars Toons: Tales from Radiator Springs and Cars: Fast as Lightning did not receive a normal die-cast release. Only a special metallic version was made available.
* In the second-to-last episode of the Disney show Amphibia, there is a car that appears in the background in one scene resembling McQueen's paint job and appearance in the first Cars movie.
* In the new Chace! Animation logo, Lightning McQueen can be seen in his Dinoco appearance.
== Gallery ==
see Lightning McQueen/Gallery
Category:Pixar Cars
Category:Male Characters
Category:Characters
Category:Red Characters
Category:Racers
Category:Piston Cup Series
Category:Dinoco 400 Season
Category:Radiator Springs
Category:Rust-Eze
Category:Dinoco
Category:95
Category:Owen Wilson