While McQueen is certainly partly inspired by the C6.R Corvette, his bodywork is an original design inspired by many different race cars, but mainly based on the Generation 4 NASCARs that made up the top level Stock Car field when the movie was released in 2006.
While McQueen is not modeled directly after a specific make and model, the artists mixed and matched elements of the Chevrolet Corvette C6 and Corvette C1.
He is not based on any particular type of vehicle, but seems to most closely resemble a C6 Chevrolet Corvette and Dodge Viper. His body is painted red with yellow and orange lightning bolt stickers featuring his racing number on his sides.
Tex is a 1975 Cadillac Coupe De Ville. His license plate reads Dinoco. The performance stats are: Top speed is 115 mph (185 km/h) with no governor/limiter.
Disney and Pixar's Cars may have hit theaters in the summer of 2006, but production of the film started many years earlier, with production designer Bob Pauley first sketching the film's female protagonist, Sally Carrera, in 2002. As her surname suggests, Sally is an anthropomorphic Porsche 911 Carrera.
Cruz Ramirez (voiced by Cristela Alonzo) is Lightning's trainer and technician at the Rust-eze Racing Center. She resembles a Jaguar F-Type and Chevrolet Corvette (C7). Cruz is known for training some of the best rookie race cars through her unconventional training methods.
Chick is a 1979 Shyster Cremlin, a fictional car based on and designed after a 1986 Buick Regal in NASCAR form. Chick is painted green, with the number 86 painted on his doors, and has yellow rims. He also has a grille, which serves as a mustache.
His number was originally 57, a reference to Lasseter's birth year, but was changed to 95, referencing the release year of Pixar's first film Toy Story.
However, the two major car models he is based on are – the Chevrolet Corvette C1 (produced between 1953-1962) and the Chevrolet Corvette C6 (produced between 2004-2013).
The Hudson Hornet is a full-size car manufactured by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1951 until 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Hudson automobiles continued to be marketed under the Hudson brand name through the 1957 model year.
In Cars 3, it is revealed that Mater and Holley's relationship is still going very strong and at the end of Cars 3, Mater distracts Sterling by mentioning that he has church flaps, hinting that he's someday getting married to Holley Shiftwell. He still loves her unconditionally and she still loves him unconditionally.
Sterling is a Revere Motors Model AG, a car based on the BMW CS Vintage Concept. His paintjob consists of silver and chrome. His license plate reads "STER-LING" and above it states "Illinoil".
Strip "The King" Weathers is a main character in Cars and a side character in Cars 3. He is a Dinoco light blue ("Dinoco Blue") 1970 Plymouth Superbird. He is a seven-time Piston Cup champion (a feat that was later matched by Lightning McQueen) and a veteran Piston Cup racer.
Luigi is a 1959 Fiat 500 who runs the local tire shop, Luigi's Casa Della Tires, “Home of the Leaning Tower of Tires.” He loves changing tires for racecars like Lightning McQueen, but nothing makes him happier than when a real Ferrari comes through his door.
Flo is simply based on a Motorama Show Girl, modeled after a 1957 GM Motorama Show Car. She is a modified 1955 Lincoln Futura with large tail fins. Her license plate reads "SHO GRL", a reference to the fact that she was a show girl before she came to Radiator Springs.
According to her character pose, she is a 2017 CRS Sports Coupe. Her license plate reads "C01 06A", which is a combination of her voice actress Cristela Alonzo's initials and birthday.
Doc Hudson (also known as The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, Hud, or simply Doc) is an anthropomorphic 1951 Hudson Hornet who appears in the 2006 Pixar film Cars.
Tow Mater is a 1951 International Harvester L-170 and yes probably so it was a kind of tow truck but I wasn't born around that time. I was born later. HERE HE IS!!
