Cars 2 is set partly in Tokyo, Porto Corsa, and London.
The film uses these international locations for the World Grand Prix and its connected spy story. Tokyo hosts the opening race, Porto Corsa provides an Italian coastal setting, and London becomes the site of the final major confrontation. The changing locations give the sequel a much broader scale than the first film.
Lightning McQueen enters the World Grand Prix, while Mater becomes involved with Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. Their plot reveals that the races are connected to a larger conspiracy involving alternative fuel and the criminal mastermind Miles Axlerod.
Porto Corsa is fictional, but it draws on imagery associated with Italian seaside towns. London landmarks and streets are also adapted into the film’s animated world. Cars 2 was released in 2011 and is the franchise’s most overt spy-thriller entry.