In Pixar’s Cars 2, which villain is secretly behind the international plot?

Sir Miles Axlerod is secretly behind the international plot in Pixar’s Cars 2.

Axlerod is introduced as a former oil tycoon who has converted himself into an electric vehicle. He presents the World Grand Prix as a showcase for Allinol, an alternative fuel intended to prove that clean energy can power high-performance racing.

The film later reveals that Axlerod is the mastermind behind the scheme. He uses Allinol and electromagnetic weapons to make the fuel appear dangerous, hoping to discredit alternative energy and protect the value of traditional oil. His plot recruits weaponized lemons and turns the race into an international crisis.

The reveal is easy to confuse with Professor Zündapp, who is Axlerod’s principal technical ally and a visible member of the criminal operation. Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell are intelligence agents investigating the conspiracy, while Francesco Bernoulli is a racing rival rather than a villain. Cars 2 therefore combines the franchise’s racing setting with a spy-film structure.