Lightning McQueen, typically referred to by his surname McQueen is an anthropomorphic racecar in the 2006 animated Pixar film Cars, and its sequel Cars 2. He was named after Pixar animator Glenn McQueen (who died from melanoma in 2002), not actor and noted racing buff Steve McQueen. He is based on generic NASCAR vehicles, but with design influences from the Mazda Miata and Dodge Viper. Late in the original film, he is painted much like the Chevrolet Corvette C1.
Source: Wikipedia, "Lightning McQueen", available under the CC-BY-SA License.