The Hudson Hornet character voiced by Paul Newman in Pixar's Cars is Doc Hudson.
Doc is the judge and town doctor of Radiator Springs, but he once had a celebrated racing career. He was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a three-time Piston Cup champion before a crash ended his competitive career and left him largely forgotten by the racing world.
Paul Newman, a lifelong motorsport enthusiast and racing driver, provided Doc's voice. Cars was Newman's final feature-film voice role before his death in 2008. The character therefore links the fictional Piston Cup with Newman's real-world interest in racing.
Doc Hudson is different from The King, who is a contemporary racer, and Smokey, who appears in Cars 3 as a mentor connected to Doc's later life. The Hudson Hornet name also refers to a real automobile produced by Hudson Motor Car Company.