The icons of the characters were also very different from the new ones, since they showed their actual artwork instead of showing them with a neutral face. A beta screenshot of the game, possibly around 2010, shows many characters and paint jobs that were removed from the game for unknown reasons such as: Claude Scruggs, a yellow version of Holley Shiftwell, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, a green version of Lewis Hamilton, a blue version of Michael Schumacher, Mack, Rust-eze Lightning McQueen and Lizzie.
Mechanics involving them have steadily changed, although it can easily be considered to have gotten worse as the series progressed.
The game doesn't really have a story, it is set in a lab called C.H.R.O.M.E Academy, where they run simulations which end up being the game's events.