Who is the main villain revealed as a spy mastermind in Pixar's Cars 2?

Miles Axlerod is revealed as the spy mastermind and main villain in Pixar's Cars 2. He presents himself as a former oil tycoon who organizes the World Grand Prix, but his plan is to use an untested alternative fuel and provoke international conflict.

Axlerod secretly controls the lemons, a criminal group of disgraced cars, and manipulates races to discredit the fuel developed by his company. Mater's accidental involvement in espionage helps uncover the conspiracy. The character's identity is a late-film revelation, distinguishing him from the visible racing rival Francesco Bernoulli.

Eddie Izzard voices Miles Axlerod in the English-language version. Chick Hicks is the antagonist of the first Cars movie, while Jackson Storm opposes McQueen in Cars 3. Axlerod's plot gives Cars 2 a spy-thriller structure rather than focusing solely on racing.