The first race of the World Grand Prix in Cars 2 is held in Tokyo.
Cars 2 opens with the World Grand Prix, an international racing competition organized by Miles Axlerod. The first event takes place on a Tokyo street circuit, where racers compete through a course combining city roads, elevated sections, and sharp turns.
Lightning McQueen enters the competition after being challenged by Italian racer Francesco Bernoulli. Mater accompanies him and becomes involved in an espionage plot involving an alternative fuel called Allinol. The Tokyo setting establishes the film’s international scale before the action moves to other locations.
The World Grand Prix also visits Porto Corsa in Italy and London in the United Kingdom. These locations give Cars 2 a globe-spanning structure that differs from the first film’s focus on Radiator Springs and American road culture.