 Lightning McQueens original number was to be 57, director  John Lasseter (qv)s birth year. It was later changed to 95 to  represent the year that _Toy Story (1995)_ (qv) was released. The  car in the final film who has the number 57 (who wins the race in  the first teaser) vaguely resembles McQueen, and is probably an  earlier production design for that character.