Lightning McQueen - Owen Wilson

Lightning McQueen is the hottest new talent in the furiously contested 'Piston Cup' (obviously no relation to NASCAR's furiously contested Winston Cup), and the young gun's journey to the most closely fought final in the Cup's history is the story of Cars.

A freak accident sees him in trouble in a small town that time, and the Interstate, has forgotten. But although the cars of Radiator Springs can't match him for speed, they can still teach him a thing or two about life; most important of which is that it's not about reaching the finishing line, but about the journey itself.

Unique among the cast, McQueen is not based on any real car, just a "racing aesthetic closer to a Group C car than a NASCAR..." according to his to his designers.