Lightning McQueen

Lightning McQueen
Color	Red
Occupation	Piston Cup Race Car World Grand Prix Race Car
Main portrayer(s)	Owen Wilson (films, Mater and the Ghostlight, Cars: The Video Game, Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, Cars Toons episodes starting from The Radiator Springs 500½, and Cars Land) Keith Ferguson (video games, Cars Toons episodes before The Radiator Springs 500½ and Mad TV)
Character information Alias(es) El McQueen Dragon McQueen Frightening McMean Lt. McQueen Lightning McQueen Hawk Stickers (as Sally usually calls him) Buddy (as Mater usually calls him) Mr. I Can't Turn On Dirt (by Mater; briefly) Gender Male

""Speed. I am speed.""

—Lightning McQueen, [[{{{3}}}]]

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.

Creation and development

Concept art of McQueen

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.

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.

History

Cars

Lightning in the Dinoco 400

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 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 mistakes another truck for Mack.

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 center 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.

Doc challenges Lightning to a race.

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.

"Pit stop."

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.

Cars: The Video Game

Lightning in Cars: The Video Game.

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

Lightning meets New York racers Vince, Sonny, Lenny, and Barry.

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.

Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures

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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.

Cars: Mater-National Championship

Lightning on the character select screen in Cars: 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.

Cars Toons

Rescue Squad Mater

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.

Mater the Greater

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.

El Materdor

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.

Tokyo Mater

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.

Unidentified Flying Mater

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.

Heavy Metal Mater

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

Monster Truck Mater

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.

Moon Mater

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.

Mater Private Eye

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

Air Mater

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

Time Travel Mater

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.

Hiccups

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.

Spinning

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

The Radiator Springs 500½

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.

The 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 acting badly.

In arcade mode, Lightning is unlocked as a playable character from the start of the game.

Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales: The Video 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, but as the deuteragonist.

File:Lightning mqueen.jpg

Lightning before talking to Mater.

He 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.

To McQueen's surprise, Mater also works as a waiter at the motel. 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.

Lightning's new paint job and body style.

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

Lightning flies with Mater.

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: The Video Game

Lightning in the garage.

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: A Disney/Pixar Adventure

In 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

Lightning's artwork for 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.

Planes: Fire & Rescue

Lightning McQueen's newspaper cameo in Planes: Fire & Rescue.

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

Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition

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.

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.

Disney Infinity: 3.0 Edition

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.

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

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 like 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

Physical description

File:Lightning Cars2.png

Lightning's most recent depiction.

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.

Fans say 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.

McQueen's two-tone design appears to be an homage to the C1 Corvette, complete with whitewall tires. His model was originally painted red, with green Smell Swell stickers. Later, his doors were re-painted with yellow and orange lightning bolt decals. He had the number 95 painted in red, orange and yellow on his roof and doors, as well as the Rust-eze logo on his hood and spoiler. After being accepted into the World Grand Prix, Lightning minorly changed his paint job - he now has the Hudson Hornet Piston Cup logo on his hood, and a raised red spoiler. He continues to wear this, as seen in Time Travel Mater.

Personality and traits

Originally cocky and self-centered, Lightning's personality was changed into a caring and nice person with lots of friends - to which he is very loyal and kind. Though nice and pleasant, Lightning can be a bit selfish and self-centered sometimes. He is also brave, courageous, and daring.

Powers and abilities

McQueen carefully passing Floyd Mulvihill and Rusty Cornfuel in a Piston Cup race

McQueen is portrayed as an incredibly gifted race car, with outstanding acceleration, speed and handling. He has also been shown with great agility, being able to dodge and avoid objects and other cars in accidents. According to his official specifications from Cars 2 promotional media, McQueen's top speed is 200mph, reaching from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds.

Notably, McQueen is also quite talented at Tractor Tipping and various other games played by the residents of Radiator Springs, such as Doc and the Law's Race and Chase and Fillmore's Fuel Frenzy.

Relationships

Friends and love interests

McQueen and Sally

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:

Job	Seen in
Stunt expert	Mater the Greater
Bulldozer fighter	El Materdor
Rock singer	Heavy Metal Mater
Monster truck wrestler	Monster Truck Mater
Astronaut	Moon Mater
Detective	Mater Private Eye
Air stunt plane	Air Mater
Spy	Cars 2: The Video Game

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 Dragon Lightning 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.

Appearances

For this subject's list of appearances, see Lightning McQueen/Appearances.

Profiles and statistics

Cars

• Bios
  • "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."

Cars: The Video Game

Lightning

• Stats
  • Speed: 5
  • Acceleration: 4
  • Handling: 3
  • Stabiliy: 3

Lightning (Monster truck)

• Stats
  • Speed: 4
  • Acceleration: 3
  • Handling: 2
  • Stability: 3

Cars: Mater-National Championship

Lightning

• Stats
  • Boost: 3
  • Acceleration: 4
  • Handling: 4
  • Stability: 3

Monster McQueen

• Stats
  • Boost: 3
  • Acceleration: 3
  • Handling: 2
  • Stability: 4

Cars 2

• Bios
  • "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."
• Specifications
  • Top speed: 200 mph
  • Zero to 60: 3.2 seconds
  • Engine: V-8
  • Horsepower: 750

Cars 2: The Video Game

Lightning McQueen

• Weight: Medium
• Speed: 50
• Power: 50

Radiator Lightning

• Weight: Medium
• Speed: 50
• Power: 50

Carbon Fiber Lightning

• Weight: Medium
• Speed: 50
• Power: 50

Dragon Lightning

• Weight: Medium
• Speed: 50
• Power: 50

Daredevil Lightning

• Weight: Medium
• Speed: 50
• Power: 50

Disney Infinity

• Bios
  • "Whatever the task, Lightning McQueen is quick to react. Whether he’s jumping a canyon, trailblazing through desert, or towing another character in the Cars Play Set, nothing slows him down."
• Toys

Name	Image	How to unlock	Description
Lightning McQueen Paint Job		Found in one of Lightning's three character chests in the Cars Play Set	A car with a Lightning McQueen paint job from Cars

Cars: Fast as Lightning

• Paint jobs: Retro Look, Champion, Winter, Speed Demon, ICE, Eastern Breeze, Neon McQueen

Portrayals

Lightning McQueen has had two different voice actors, due to Owen Wilson sometimes being unavailable.

• Owen Wilson - Cars, Cars: The Video Game, Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures, Mater and the Ghostlight, Cars 2, Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure, The Radiator Springs 500½, To Protect and Serve, Cars: Fast as Lightning
• Keith Ferguson - Cars: Mater-National Championship, Rescue Squad Mater, Mater the Greater, El Materdor, Tokyo Mater, The World of Cars Online, Cars: Race-O-Rama, Unidentified Flying Mater, Heavy Metal Mater, Monster Truck Mater, Moon Mater, Mater Private Eye, Air Mater, Cars 2: The Video Game, Time Travel Mater, Disney Infinity, Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition, Hiccups, Spinning

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Lightning McQueen/Gallery.

Quotes

• "Ka-chow!" - Cars
• "I'm faster than fast. Quicker than quick. I am lightning!" - Cars
• "Oh, Kori. There's a lot more to racing than just winning. I mean, taking the race by a full lap... Where's the entertainment in that?" - Cars
• "No, no. I wanted to give the folks a little sizzle." - Cars
• "Am I sorry I don't have a crew chief? No, I'm not. 'Cause I'm a one-man show." - Cars
• "Yo, Chuck. Chuck, what are you doing? You're blockin' the camera! Everyone wants to see the bolt." - Cars
• "Now, back away." - Cars
• "Ow! Whoa, team! Where are you going?" - Cars
• "Oh, OK, leave. Fine. How will I ever find anyone else who knows how to fill me up with gas? Adios, Chuck!" - Cars
• "Oh, whatever." - Cars
• "I love being me." - Cars
• "Yes, yes, yes! Lightning McQueen here, and I use Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment, new rear end formula. Nothing soothes a rusty bumper like Rust-eeeze. Wow! look at that shine! Use Rust-eze, and you too, can look like me! Ka-chow!" - Cars''" - Cars
• "Mater?" - Cars
• "Holy Porsche! She's gotta be from my attorney's office." - Cars
• "I'm a precision instrument of speed and aerodynamics." - Cars
• "Pch. Crazy grandpa car, what an idiot." - Cars
• "No Mater, I gotta finish this road, and I have to get out of here." - Cars
• "Whoa, whoa, easy now, Mater. You know who you're talking to? This is Lightning McQueen. I can handle anything." - Cars
• "It's good to be home, everybody." - Cars 2
• "I know Doc said these things were just old cups... but to have someone else win it just didn't feel right, you know?" - Cars 2
• "Thank you so much for having us, Sir Axlerod. I really look forward to racing. This is a great opportunity." - Cars 2

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Spanish	Rayo McQueen	Beam, ray
French	Flash McQueen	Flash
Polish	Zygzak McQueen	Zigzag
Danish	Lynet McQueen	Lightning
Dutch	Bliksem McQueen	Lightning
Italian	Saetta McQueen	Flash of lightning
Swedish	Blixten McQueen	The flash
Albanian	Vetëtima McQueen	Lightning
Portugese	Faísca McQueen	Spark
Chinese	閃電王麥坤	Lightning king
Ukrainian	Блискавка МакКвін	Lightning
Russian	Молния МакКвин	Lightning

Trivia

• His racing number, "95" is a reference to the year 1995, when Pixar's first feature-length film, Toy Story was released. Originally, his number was going to be 57, which is the year John Lasseter was born.
• Lightning's last name "McQueen" is a reference to Glenn McQueen, a supervising animator at Pixar who passed away in 2002.
• In the first official teaser trailer of Cars 2, for unknown reasons, Lightning McQueen has on his Rust-eze customization, which never appeared in the sequel. It may be because the new paint job wasn't finalized at the time of the release of the teaser trailer.
• In Toy Story 3, in the Caterpillar Room at Sunnyside Daycare, you 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.
• In the first film, Lightning's back bumper is yellow. This follows NASCAR's tradition of putting yellow rookie stripes on rookie drivers' cars.
• Lightning's design was inspired by stock cars, and a more curvaceous Le Mans endurance racers (Ford GT40).
• After Lightning's redesign in Cars 2, he has working headlights instead of stickers. However, Sally still calls him "Stickers".
• In Tokyo, an advertisement for a vacuum cleaner named "Lightning McClean" is seen.

External links

• Lightning McQueen on the Disney website