The villainous professor in Pixar’s Cars 2 is Professor Zündapp.
Professor Zündapp is an Austrian-style lemon car who works with the film’s criminal conspiracy. The plot uses the World Grand Prix as a global stage while the lemons attempt to discredit alternative fuel by causing vehicles to malfunction after consuming Allinol.
The character’s surname is spelled Zündapp, including the umlaut. It references the German motorcycle manufacturer Zündapp, a real company founded in Nuremberg in 1917. In the film, the name is applied to a fictional car character rather than to a historical person.
Cars 2 expands the franchise beyond Radiator Springs into an international spy adventure. Mater becomes involved after being mistaken for an undercover agent, while Lightning McQueen competes in races in Japan, Italy, and England. The global setting explains why the film contains more espionage elements than the first movie.