Cars 2 is the Pixar Cars film set primarily around international espionage.
Released in 2011, Cars 2 follows Lightning McQueen as he enters the World Grand Prix and Mater as he is drawn into a secret-agent investigation. British spy Finn McMissile and agent Holley Shiftwell investigate a plot involving the race, Allinol fuel, and a group of criminal cars.
The sequel broadens the franchise’s setting from Radiator Springs and American stock-car racing to Tokyo, Italy, and London. Its structure and tone borrow from spy films, including covert missions, gadgets, disguises, chase scenes, and an international conspiracy. Mater’s accidental involvement provides the story’s comic perspective.
Cars is primarily a road-trip and racing story centered on Lightning’s personal growth, while Cars 3 returns to a more focused racing drama about changing technology and mentorship. Cars 2 is therefore the franchise entry most directly associated with espionage, even though racing remains a major part of its plot.