All is rev-ealed: Pixar lifts the hood on Lightning McQueen in new exhibition

Pixar is unlocking exactly how Lightning McQueen runs in a new museum exhibit. The animation studio is showing off what is underneath the Cars character’s metal at the newly-overhauled Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The exhibit features a life-size version of Lightning McQueen, original art by Cars production designer Bob Pauley and several displays with real-world renditions of the character’s engine, suspension and other running parts. The exhibit also includes an augmented reality experience voiced by Cars actors that drives visitors through the second floor of the museum, which features exhibits on motorcycles, hot rods and alternative power.

It is a living character who happens to be a car, but when you watch the films and these characters fly through the air, all that stuff is under there.

Jay Ward, Cars creative director

Pixar teamed up with the Petersen to create its first museum exhibit to teach families about the interworking of cars. How will children feel about seeing a dissected rendition of the beloved animated race car voiced by Owen Wilson? “It was tricky,” said Jay Ward, creative director of the Cars franchise. “We were very careful about not showing a cut-away of McQueen,’ he said. "For all the parts, we’re only showing vignettes. We didn’t want the character’s head open or anything like that.” The Petersen Automotive Museum, which has had a $90 million-dollar makeover reopens to the public on December 7.

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