Cars 4: Legacy of the Open Road (2026)
Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Cristela Alonzo, Armie Hammer
Lightning McQueen has raced across deserts, cities, international circuits, and legendary speedways — but age, experience, and time have brought him to a crossroads he never expected. With Cruz Ramirez now the world’s reigning champion, Lightning finds himself asking the question every racer dreads: What happens when the finish line comes for you?
Just as Lightning begins settling into life as a mentor, the racing world is thrown into chaos. A mysterious new competitor known only as Ghostshift explodes onto the scene — a silent, sleek electric prototype capable of maneuvers no ordinary racer could survive. He doesn’t just win races; he shuts them down, leaving crashes, corrupted tracks, and terrified racers in his wake.
When Ghostshift targets Cruz in a championship showdown and nearly destroys her career, Lightning’s instincts roar back to life. This isn’t just a rival — it’s a threat.
Enter Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell, returning from the spy world with an alarming discovery: Ghostshift is part of Project Eclipse, a covert corporate initiative engineered by an elite tech conglomerate determined to erase gas-powered racing forever. Their goal: replace every track, every car, and every tradition with a new world where corporate machines control the sport from the shadows.
Lightning refuses to let racing’s soul be stolen.
With Mater’s hilariously chaotic detective methods, Cruz’s determination to prove she’s more than a one-time champion, and Lightning’s seasoned instincts, the team speeds into a global investigation that takes them far beyond standard racing routes:
- Across the sunbaked remnants of historic Route 66, where the spirit of racing was born.
- Through the high-stakes glamour of the European Grand Crown Speedway, now plagued by Ghostshift’s sabotage.
- Into the icy, electrified tunnels of a secret Norwegian test facility, where Project Eclipse hides its deadliest prototypes.
As the truth emerges, Ghostshift’s identity becomes the biggest mystery of all — a racer with a past tied directly to Lightning’s legacy… and a future meant to erase it.
For Lightning McQueen, the final challenge isn’t just beating an unbeatable machine. It’s deciding whether a legend is defined by how fast he finishes… or by the road he leaves behind.
Cars 4: Legacy of the Open Road (2026) delivers heart, humor, and high-speed adrenaline — a powerful story about legacy, evolution, and the unbreakable spirit of racing.