Dad turns red mustang into real-life Cars character, Lightning McQueen

A creative US dad has made a dream come true for his toddler son, painting the family’s new red Mustang into a life-size Lightning McQueen, a race car character from the animated movie series Cars.

Brett Winek, from Tennessee, said his three-year-old son watched the Pixar film franchise obsessively.

“McQueen is his favourite character, and he loves Mater too. He has both of the characters in toy cars and mimics their sayings all the time while playing,” Mr Winek told Yahoo Parenting.

The playful dad began investigating ideas to transform his new Mustang into a real-life McQueen.

Eventually he found a company that specialised in car decoration, and spent $1200 (AU $1668) on the project – although it sounds like it was worth every cent.

“He lit up so much when we picked up the car,” Mr Winek said.