Metamorphosis: The Rae Roberts × GYEON Art Car

Most art cars are treated like finished objects. Once the last mark is made, they are photographed, displayed, and protected from the world that inspired them.

Rae Roberts wanted hers to go back out into it.

Her BMW E92 M3 was never intended to live a quiet life. Before Rae owned it, the car had already been repaired following a front-end collision and used as a track training car. Under her ownership, it continued to evolve with new aero, suspension work, a stripped interior, and plenty more time on track.

For the past three years, it wore satin black. It looked purposeful, but it no longer felt like a complete expression of the person behind the wheel. Rae wanted something more vibrant, more personal, and much closer to the artwork that had made the car possible in the first place.

The GYEON Art Car project gave her the opportunity to create it.

Before Rae could begin painting, Jessica Tran and the Studio94 team had to prepare the M3 as her canvas. This was not a factory-fresh car with predictable bodywork or a ready-made installation pattern. Every section of GYEON Color PPF had to be installed in bulk and carefully hand-cut around a car shaped by years of modification and use.

The film alone completely changed its character. In direct light, the finish comes alive as a vibrant teal. Move into the shade and deeper blue and purple tones begin to appear. For most color-change projects, that transformation would be the finished product. For Rae, it was only the background.

Her artwork introduced bright reds, turquoise, layered textures, and techniques she had not previously used. Spray paint, bubble wrap, household drawer liners, and other unexpected materials became tools for building the final composition. The process was loose, experimental, and intentionally different from the controlled brushwork found throughout much of her portfolio.

The result is Metamorphosis, a name that describes more than the change in the car’s appearance. Rae built her career by painting the cars she dreamed about, eventually using that work to purchase and develop an M3 of her own. Now that same car carries the story of what her art allowed her to become.

And despite its transformation, this E92 has not suddenly become too precious to use. Rae did not build it for a museum. The artwork is meant to move, pick up speed, and return to the track as boldly as it arrived.

Watch the full film to see Metamorphosis take shape, then follow Rae Roberts on Instagram to see where the art car goes next.