Tokyo hosts the opening World Grand Prix race in Pixar’s Cars 2.
The film begins with a spy-thriller sequence before introducing the international racing event organized by former oil magnate Miles Axlerod. The first race takes place on a neon-lit circuit in Tokyo, giving Cars 2 a markedly different setting from the desert roads and small-town streets of the original Cars.
Lightning McQueen enters the World Grand Prix after being challenged by Italian racer Francesco Bernoulli. The Tokyo race also brings Mater into contact with British secret agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell, whose investigation forms the movie’s parallel espionage plot.
Tokyo is the first of three World Grand Prix locations shown in the film. The later races take place in Porto Corsa, Italy, and London, England.