Lightning McQueen

**Lightning McQueen** is the main character and protagonist of the *Cars* series. He appears in almost every main installment of the Cars series, with the only exceptions being media based on the Planes series. He is often portrayed as fun and kind, but still has concern about his career.

Mater was his original best friend. But in GoAnimate, Mac iCar, Ponchy Wipeout, and were Ryan Shields his GoAnimate best friends.

## Appearance

### Development

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 GT40's and Chargers, among many other models, to reflect his personality and role.

### Famous Look-ats

Athletic figures such as boxer Muhammad Ali and football quarterback Joe Namath were looked at 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 at by the designers, due to his unique style of playing his sport.

## Appearances

### Cars

In Cars, the film opens at the Motor Speedway of the South, where cocky and self-centered Lightning McQueen is competing in the Dinoco 400 for the title of the Piston Cup champion. After a three-way tie between him, seven-time champion Strip 'The King' Weathers and consistent runner-up Chick Hicks, McQueen makes a bet with Chick, where the first one to reach the tie-breaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway wins. 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. A sleepy Mack is later harassed by a gang of delinquents, who accidentally open McQueen's trailer and unknowingly release 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 his best option is to search for help on the Interstate. McQueen rushes past a sleeping police officer named Sheriff, who chases him through the town. Scared, McQueen accidentally rips up the road with a statue of the town's founder, which ultimately lands him in the town's impound. When he wakes in the morning, he discovers he is in the deserted town of Radiator Springs, where the residents sentence him to community service, and make him fix the road by pulling Bessie, the road-paving machine.

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 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, whom Lightning quickly gains a crush on. After learning of the history behind both the town and Doc Hudson, who was previously a famous dirt track racer, Lightning finds Doc practicing 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 race, McQueen is surprised to see his Radiator Springs friends have arrived to serve as his racing team, 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, 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.

It is unknown that Tex had offered McQueen the coveted Dinoco sponsorship for good sportsmanship. after he declined Chick Hicks for his reckless driving.

### First video game Appearance

In Cars: The Video Game, 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. 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, 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 it again by stealing it 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, where 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.

### 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, Lightning is at Flo's V8 Café listening as Sheriff tells his story about a ghost known as the Ghostlight, scaring him a little. He later helps prank Mater by placing a lamp on his tow hook.

### Mater-National Championship

In Cars: Mater-National Championship, the direct sequel to Cars: The Video Game, 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 Ferrari 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.

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 Toons

Lightning has appeared in all of the Cars Toons videos, which range from Rescue Squad Mater to Radiator Springs 500½.

In Rescue Squad Mater, Lightning is inside of the burning building that Mater and his team get a call for. Once he is rescued, McQueen is taken to the hospital, where he gets painfully repaired. Not believing Mater's story, Lightning objects, only to watch Nurse GTO drive by.

In Mater the Greater, Mater tells the story about how Lightning was a daredevil too, and was the one who tried jump over Carburetor Canyon, only to run out of fuel halfway through the jump, loose his Mater the Greater teeth and fall.

In El Materdor, Lightning is in the arena with Mater fighting bulldozers, and since he is painted red, Lightning creates a distraction while Mater defeats them.

In Tokyo Mater, Mater is racing through a huge halfpipe with oil everywhere when Dragon Lightning McQueen appears from thin air and assists him through it. McQueen teaches Mater how to drift, which helps him on his way up Tokyo Tower.

In Unidentified Flying Mater, Lightning is seen running away from the military forces with Mater and Mator, before a giant UFO, which is presumably Mator's mother, takes the trio back home.

In Heavy Metal Mater, Lightning played the keyboard in Mater's band, and even helped Mater sing Dad Gum into the microphone.

In Monster Truck Mater, Lightning is on a tag-team with Mater, fighting against Dr. Frankenwagon's Monster. He fights for Mater while he talks to Mia and Tia, and once Mater is tagged, he flips the arena over.

In Moon Mater, Lightning is seen while Mater is helping Impala XIII back to Earth. He is traveling at incredible speeds, and as a result, McQueen catches on fire as he speeds back to Earth, into a lake.

In Mater Private Eye, Lt. McQueen arrests Big D and his henchman after Mater discovers that he is selling counterfeit tires.

In Air Mater, Lightning McQueen Hawk performs with Falcon Hawks, performing for one of the Falcon Hawks after their wing gets damaged.

In Time Travel Mater, Lizzie falls in love with Lightning, making him and Mater go back in time again to make sure that Lizzie meets Stanley so the town can be built.

In Hiccups, Lightning gets a case of the hiccups, and all of his friends try to help cure them. Sally eventually gives Lightning a kiss, which cures him.

In Spinning, Lightning is part of the crowd watching Guido spinning his sign.

In The Radiator Springs 500½, McQueen dresses as Stanley for the town's annual Stanley Days celebration, but when a group of off-road racers led by Sandy Dunes arrive, he challenges them to a race. However, they soon go the wrong way after being confused by Mater saying that going left is right when he means "correct", not the actual direction. Eventually, they arrive back in Radiator Springs after being freaked out by several corpses in a spooky forest.

### World of Cars Online

In The World of Cars Online, Lightning appeared 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 Toons Viideo Game

In Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales: The Video Game, Lightning appears in all of the sets of minigames.

### Cars 2

In Cars 2, Lightning returns to Radiator Springs after winning the Piston Cup for the fourth time, being greeted by all the townsfolk as soon as he arrives. Mater is more excited than the others, as he has some plans for the summer to spend with McQueen. However, they are not exactly as good as McQueen thought. Before Mater could tell his third plan, McQueen decides to instead have a date with Sally at the Wheel Well Motel, but without Mater, although adding that they will do the rest of Mater's plan the next day.

However, during Lightning's date with Sally, Mater pretends to be a waiter in order to spend more time with McQueen. When being asked by Mater if he and Sally would like a drink, McQueen decides to have his usual, which Mater is unsure what it is. Soon, McQueen notices that all of the visitors are crowding into the motel. Coming inside, he and Sally see on the television a formula car called Francesco Bernoulli. Next, McQueen hears Mater's voice on the TV, and soon learns from Guido that Mater is actually on the phone to The Mel Dorado Show. Seeing that Francesco is insulting Mater, McQueen steps in to say that he does not appreciate it. After their conversation, Miles Axlerod asks McQueen if he would like to compete in the World Grand Prix, so to make people around the world run on his new Allinol fuel. McQueen agrees, seeing that his crew is joining him. Additionally, when he is told by Sally to bring Mater, due to not bringing him to any of his races, he accepts the suggestion, which excites Mater.

Making the trip to the first race in Tokyo, McQueen gets a new paint job and proper headlights, and sets off with Mater, Luigi, Guido, Sarge and Fillmore. However, while at the opening ceremony, McQueen becomes concerned about Mater, seeing that he acts the same as in Radiator Springs. To add to that, he starts to have a rivalry with Francesco. During the race, Lightning gets into the lead after Francesco struggles in the dirt track section, but unexpectedly loses after Mater is unexpectedly mistaken for a spy and therefore abandoning his position as crew chief. McQueen gets mad at Mater and claims that he doesn't need or want his help anymore, causing the tow truck to go on his own adventure as a spy. When he was in Porto Corsa, he learns from Uncle Topolino that he has been too harsh on Mater and should accept him for who he is. In the middle of the race in London, he chases Mater through the streets, trying to apologize, not knowing that he had a bomb in his engine. After the chase, they hear from Professor Z that it's voice activated and can only be deactivated by the one who activated it in the first place. Mater soon realizes that Miles Axlerod is the criminal behind the World Grand Prix, but is worried that nobody will believe him. Then, Lightning tells him what he learned, and Mater goes to the palace and forces Miles to deactivate the bomb. For that, Lightning decides to bring Mater to all his races from now on.

Along the way, Lightning realizes what Mater is: Not the perfect crew chief, and not the world's best spy, but his best friend. He searches for Mater and finally finds him on the race track, scared to take action. But Lightning convinces his friend to continue his unfinished spy work. And in the end Lightning decides to treat Mater better...and to start taking racing advice from him.

### Cars 2: Video Game

In Cars 2: The Video Game, Lightning is a playable character, and is one of the ten characters unlocked from the beginning the game. He also has two other skins, Carbon Fiber Lightning and Radiator Lightning, which can be unlocked by earning specific badges and crests. There are also several other skins that can be downloaded in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game.

### Kinect Rush: Disney Pixar Special

n Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, he appears in the first Cars level, where he is looking for a new car in his racing team, which is the player. But first, the player has got to try out, so he/she has to pass the Tow Mater Fancy Drivin' Challenge. Mater says that he designed the course specially so that only the best drivers in the whole world can finish it. McQueen says that he's got great confidence, and that if Mater says you're good enough, that's good enough for him, before Mater says that it's what the Tow Mater Fancy Drivin' Challenge says, not himself. The player follows Mater through the course before in the ending cutscene, Mater says to the player that he/she is awesome, before McQueen says that Mater's right and that was some of the best driving he's ever seen, before saying to the player that they're going to be a great addition to his team. Holley Shiftwell then appears saying that was a impressive display. Mater then introduces the player to Holley, explaining that she's his girlfriend. Holley then says that their friend, the player, would make an excellent racer, but an even better spy, and that they have a mission that is perfect for the player's speed and talents, before saying that is if McQueen doesn't mind waiting, before Mater says that McQueen can wait, before he asks McQueen if he will. He then answers, "Well, who am I to interfere with British Intelligence?" He also becomes playable in the levels when the player collects 4 hidden Buddy Coins in each level in the hidden areas and heights.

### Disney Infinity

In Disney Infinity, Lightning is one of the four playable characters from the Cars franchise. As with the other Cars characters, Lightning's abilities are drifting and using turbo, which consists of one extra square than with generic cars such as Mr. Incredible's sports car.
Lightning's special toy box adventure is Lightning's Collector Course.

In Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition, Lightning returns as a playable character alongside Holley, Mater, and Francesco. There are no significant changes between his iteration in this game and the previous Disney Infinity title, except for his ability to reach level 20 and the addition of his skill tree.

In Disney Infinity: 3.0 Edition, Lightning is set to return as a playable character, as with all of the other playable characters from the first two Disney Infinity games.

### 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.

### Other appearances

In Planes: Fire & Rescue, a picture of Lightning McQueen can be seen on the sports-related newspaper that Dusty and his friends are reading.

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.

### Real-Life appearances

Lightning McQueen also appears in Cars Land with his girlfriend, Sally Carrera. They greet the theme park guests who board the cars on the ride Radiator Springs Racers, in which they act as sportscasters.

He can be seen driving through Radiator Springs in his World Grand Prix paint job. However, in Radiator Springs Racers, he is in his Cars paint job. He and Sally will welcome the theme park guests in the ride car to the race when they arrive in Radiator Springs, and he will either tell them to go into Luigi's Casa Della Tires or Ramone's House of Body Art for either a tire change by Luigi & Guido or a paint refresh by Flo & Ramone. After the race, he and Mater will congratulate the guests for winning. Mater says that "you beat McQueen!" Lightning replies to Mater and says he wasn't racing. Mater tells Lightning McQueen that "you can't win if you don't race!" There are other phrases used.

## General Information

### Personality and Traits, extended

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. 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 awoke in the Impound. While Lightning didn't 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 through Lightning off during the first race of the World Grand Prix, due to Lightning mistaking his banter with Holley Shiftwell for advice. Angry, Lightning scolded Mater, who decided to leave since he felt like he was not wanted. 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 isn't 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 gang of British cars, a gang of Queens cars, 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.

### Personal Information

Lightning's model is a hand-built racing car, built for racing purposes specifically. He is a mix of a stock car and a more curvaceous Le Mans endurance racer. He has modifications like a red spoiler, and for a short time did not have headlights, only stickers. 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 V-8, having a horsepower of 750. His 0-60 speed is 3.2 seconds, and his top speed is 200 mph.
Many fans claim that he either resembles a modified Dodge Viper GTS-R, Ford GT40 or a tuned Mazda MX5. McQueen's appearance bears very little resemblance to modern NASCAR sedans. He instead resembles a C6 Corvette, but using NASCAR technology.

Prior to becoming a Piston Cup star, Lightning was painted entirely red, except for the Smell Swell logo on his hood and the number 95 painted on both doors and his roof. While looking for a new sponsor, the logo was removed. However, after being hired by Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze, Lightning was given an entirely new paint job for his Piston Cup career.

In Cars, Cars: The Video Game, and Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures, Lightning wears his Piston Cup paint scheme and modifications (though his paint job can be changed in the video games, his default paint job is the Piston Cup one). He is painted red, with an orange and yellow lightning bolt design on his doors, along with the number "95" and a variety of sponsor stickers. He has the Rust-eze logo on his hood, as well as on his spoiler.
In Mater and the Ghostlight, Cars: Mater-National Championship, the first ten Cars Toons shorts, and Cars: Race-O-Rama, Lightning is shown in the maroon and white paint job that was shown in the epilogue scene and credits of Cars. Whilst in this paint scheme, Lightning is painted maroon, with a white design on either of his doors, and the number 95 on his doors and roof, surrounded by a white circle.

At the beginning of Cars 2, Lightning is shown in his old Piston Cup design, although the Doc Hudson Piston Cup logo was added to his doors, and he had a different bolt design as well as less sponsor stickers. Later in the film, Lightning received an entirely new design, which brings back his original lightning bolt pattern while changing it to look more like a flame, his spoiler was modified, his bolt and sponsor stickers were removed, his headlight stickers were replaced with actual headlights, and his Rust-eze logo was changed to the Doc Hudson Piston Cup emblem. This design was kept in Cars 2: The Video Game, Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, Time Travel Mater, and the Disney Infinity games, as well as in his cameo appearance in Planes: Fire & Rescue. However, in other future installments, Lightning's spoiler now has a Radiator Springs logo on it, and his bolt and sponsor stickers are regained, with his World Grand Prix decals removed.

### 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 Video Game 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 powersliding in some Cars media, allows Lightning to take sharp turns without losing control and driving off of the track.
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:

* Performing stunts, though 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 and Love interests

Lightning is on friendly terms with all of the Radiator Springs townsfolk and his crew members for the Piston Cup, as well as the other 10 racers that competed in the World Grand Prix. He is especially best friends with Mater.
Lightning has a romantic relationship with Sally Carrera, a blue Porsche that he originally met when he was stranded in Radiator Springs.

#### Foes and Rivals

Lightning's arch nemesis is Chick Hicks, a snotty Piston Cup competitor that doesn't play by the rules. Chick is always trying to ambush McQueen or disqualify him, in hopes of eliminating his competition and finally winning a Piston Cup.

While the two were initially enemies, McQueen and Francesco Bernoulli have since become friends, but still hold a rivalry, as evidenced in the ending of Cars 2 and video games such as Cars 2: The Video Game, Disney Infinity and Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition.

### 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 four Piston Cups over the years, and is currently working on his fifth. 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. After he finished, he presumably went back to the Piston Cup.

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:

* A spy (As seen in the cars 2 Video Game)
* A heavy Metal star (As seen in Heavy Metal Mater)
* A detective (As seen in Mater Private Eye)
* An air stunt plane (In Air Mater)

### Aliases

Throughout the series, McQueen has been seen with various different names and appearances, notably in the Cars Toons shorts.

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 real ones. 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 are 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 the video game, 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 calls him "Mr. I Can't Turn On Dirt" in the first film, when he thinks about going tractor tipping.

### Biology

#### First Cars movie

* "Lightning is built for speed and has just two things on his mind: winning and the perks that come with it. In his fast-paced life he has little time for anything or anyone, but who needs friends when you've got a stadium full of fans."
* "To Lightning McQueen, the world's fastest race car, appearance is everything. Fans expect a celebrity like him to look great all the time: fresh, shiny, spotless! If only his fans could see him now."
* "Lightning McQueen's dream is to be sponsored by Dinoco Oil! In his daydreams he looks great with his new Dinoco blue paint job and his very own brand of Lightning McQueen racing tires complete with custom spinners. Hey, and why decide on either gold or silver spinners when you can have both?"
* "The town fixed up Lightning McQueen just in time for a cruise down the strip, and Radiator Springs looks pretty cool on him. Then again, everything looks pretty cool under the glow of the neon on Route 66."
* "Could anything be more embarrassing than being splashed in the face with mud right in front of the girl of your dreams? I don't think so."
* "Could anything be more embarrassing than being splashed in the face with mud right in front of the girl of your dreams? Well, maybe being covered with leaves right after that. Yes, that would be more embarrassing..."
* "After winning the Piston Cup and getting The King's coveted Dinoco Sponsorship, McQueen imagines a movie deal will be the next logical step. He sees himself doing action movies, with a hint of comedy, a touch of drama and a truck load of explosions."
* "Turning on dirt is not only harder than Lightning McQueen thought, it's also a lot more embarrassing."
* "Some lessons have to be learned the hard way. Turn right to go left sounds easy enough, but McQueen's finding out it's a lot more painful than it seems."
* "Lightning McQueen never stops for tires, even if it means driving right through them."
* "When you don't have a nose to win by, a tongue is the next best thing."

#### Second Cars Movie

* "Number 95 Lightning McQueen is still a hotshot racecar, but his rookie days are past him. Now a permanent resident of Radiator Springs, Lightning has become a bona fide worldwide celebrity as winner of four Piston Cups. After his latest win, Lightning returns home to enjoy life in the slow lane for a while with sweetheart Sally, best friend Mater and the rest of his Radiator Springs family. His off-season is unexpectedly cut short when Mater inadvertently prompts Lightning to enter the World Grand Prix, a high profile, three-part exhibition race that will take him around the globe. With a fresh custom paint job and real, working headlights, Lightning sets off to Japan, Italy and England with Mater in tow for the adventure of a lifetime. But competing against the fastest cars in the world tests more than his racing skills when Lightning realizes his wide-eyed best friend may not be the pit chief nor ambassador he needs to navigate the unfamiliar international terrain."

## Attributes

 **Voice:** | Young Guy

## Trivia

* His official YouTube username is RadiatorSpringsOfficial95.
* His original GoAnimate voice was supposed to be Steven, but ended up having Young Guy as his voice in TheoryReader1993's video instead.