Cars 2 was the first Pixar Cars movie to feature Lightning McQueen competing in the World Grand Prix.
Released in 2011, Cars 2 expands the series from American stock-car racing into an international competition. The World Grand Prix is organized by Sir Miles Axlerod and includes races in Tokyo, Porto Corsa, and London. McQueen enters the event after being challenged by Italian racer Francesco Bernoulli.
The film combines racing with a spy adventure. Mater becomes involved with British agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell, while a criminal group uses a modified fuel and electromagnetic technology as part of a larger scheme. This makes Cars 2 structurally different from the first film's small-town road story.
Cars 3, released in 2017, returns to the Piston Cup and focuses on McQueen's struggle against Jackson Storm. Cars on the Road is a Disney+ series rather than a theatrical feature. Thus Cars 2 is the specific film that introduces the World Grand Prix competition.