In Pixar's Cars 2, what is the name of the villainous professor who develops an explosive device?

Professor Zündapp is the villainous professor who develops an explosive device in Pixar's Cars 2.

Zündapp is an eccentric German scientist and an associate of the film's criminal mastermind, Miles Axlerod. He helps create the electromagnetic pulse device used in the plot to sabotage cars running on Allinol, the alternative fuel promoted by Axlerod's World Grand Prix.

The character's name references Zündapp, a real German motorcycle and machinery manufacturer founded in 1917. Cars 2 uses many automotive and mechanical names for its international cast, tying character identities to vehicle history and engineering.

Zündapp is voiced by Thomas Kretschmann. Cars 2 shifts the series from the small-town story of the first film into an international spy adventure involving races in Tokyo, Porto Corsa, and London. Because Mater is central to the spy storyline, some viewers remember him as the movie's antagonist, but he is actually an accidental investigator helping expose Zündapp and Axlerod.