As of 2026, Pixar’s Cars film series contains three feature-length films.
The films are Cars, released in 2006; Cars 2, released in 2011; and Cars 3, released in 2017. Together they follow Lightning McQueen from an ambitious rookie racer to a champion learning how to pass knowledge to a new generation.
The franchise also includes short films and television projects, which can make the total number of Cars screen productions seem larger. Mater’s Tall Tales is a short-film series, while Cars on the Road is an episodic streaming series. Neither is a feature-length theatrical film.
The three films have different emphases. Cars focuses on Lightning’s transformation in Radiator Springs, Cars 2 combines international racing with espionage, and Cars 3 returns to the question of changing racing technology and mentorship. Counting only feature-length films gives the series a total of three.