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Disney Pixar Cars

20 years ago

The racing game based on Disney and Pixar's Cars lets Lightning McQueen drive through Radiator Springs and beyond. Races, mini-games and other characters from the animated film accompany his path to the Piston Cup.

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Developer
Beenox, Helixe, Incinerator Studios, Locomotive Games
Publisher
THQ, Disney
Genre
Adventure, Rennspiele
Game modes
Multiplayer, Singleplayer
Game series
Disney/Pixar Cars
Also known as
Disney•Pixar Cars, Cars (2006)
Steam user reviews
91 % positive · 2,918 reviews
At Steam
View store page
On this page 14 sections

What is Disney Pixar Cars?

Disney Pixar Cars is the racing game for the 2006 animated film. Lightning McQueen drives through an open game world and competes in races and mini-games. Famous characters and locations from Radiator Springs accompany him on his way to the Piston Cup.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

Release

20 years ago

The first versions came out in 2006. The PC version hit the market on Jul 6, 2006 and has also been sold on Steam since February 2015. The Xbox 360 version followed in October 2006, and the Wii version came out later that same year.

  1. PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS

    Released Jun 6, 2006 in North America.

    Source

  2. PC

    Released Jul 6, 2006.

    Source

  3. Xbox 360

    Released Oct 23, 2006 in North America.

    Source

  4. Wii

    Released 2006.

    Source

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

Platforms

Disney Pixar Cars came out for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS. Other versions at the time were released for GameCube, the original Xbox and Game Boy Advance. The handheld versions sometimes differ from the more extensive racing game on PC and home consoles.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

Gameplay

With Lightning McQueen, you can explore various tracks and open areas. Alongside classic races, there are tasks and mini-games. Story progress unlocks further competitions and content.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources
A police car drives around a bend at night in a game scene.
· Disney/Pixar Image source

System requirements

According to Steam, the original Windows version requires a Pentium III at 800 MHz, 256 MB RAM, a DirectX 9 graphics card with 32 MB video memory and 500 MB free storage. These requirements refer to the operating systems of the time.

The details apply to PC.

Minimum

Operating system
Windows Me, 2000, XP or Vista (original requirements)
Processor
Pentium III, 800 MHz
RAM
256 MB RAM
Graphics
DirectX 9 card with 32 MB video memory
Speicher
500 MB

Editorial details

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

Lightning McQueen chases the Piston Cup

The focus is on rookie racer Lightning McQueen, who wants to win the Piston Cup. Between races, he meets residents of Radiator Springs and can accept their challenges.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

More than 30 challenges

The PC version offers over 30 races and mini-games. If you want to drive without much story progress, you can select already unlocked races directly. Various competitions keep things varied between the Piston Cup stations.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources
Race cars driving on a race track.
· Disney/Pixar Image source

Famous characters behind the wheel

Ten characters from the film are available to choose in the PC version. They include Lightning McQueen and other residents of the Cars world. Which vehicles and game modes are available depends on the platform version.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

Local multiplayer

The PC version supports playing and racing together in local split-screen. The Steam version also lists multiplayer features and Remote Play Together.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

Differences between PC and handhelds

The different versions were not all developed by the same studio. Beenox handled the PC version, while Rainbow Studios, Helixe and Locomotive Games, among others, worked on the console and handheld versions. Vehicles, tracks and gameplay flow are therefore not identical in every version.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

German voice-over and text

The PC version on Steam supports German menus and German voice-over. Other voiced languages are English, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Swedish.

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources

Similar games

More from Beenox and Rainbow Studios

Game series

Cars: Mater-National Championship and Cars 2: The Video Game are standalone sequels, not add-on content for Disney Pixar Cars. The games draw on the film world but have their own competitions and game content.

More from Disney/Pixar Cars

Updated 25.10.2026

Sources
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