Cars 2 was the first Pixar Cars movie to feature the World Grand Prix.
Released in 2011, Cars 2 expands the setting beyond Radiator Springs and the domestic Piston Cup. Lightning McQueen competes in the World Grand Prix, an international event staged in Tokyo, Porto Corsa, and London. The racing story is paired with a spy plot centered on Mater, Finn McMissile, and Holley Shiftwell.
The original Cars focuses on McQueen’s journey through the Piston Cup season and his time in Radiator Springs. Cars 3 returns to the Piston Cup and concentrates on McQueen’s struggle against younger racers, so neither of those films introduces the World Grand Prix.
Cars 2 was directed by John Lasseter and Brad Lewis. Its broader travel story distinguishes it from the more small-town structure of the first film and the mentorship-focused narrative of the third.