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Drive Your Story Tour Recap: Miami

Miami set the pace. Two artists. One '79 Corvette. 350+ votes. The Drive Your Story Tour kicked off in Miami — and the bar is officially set.

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Drive Your Story Tour Recap: Miami
Drive Your Story Tour Recap: Miami

Miami set the pace. Two artists. One '79 Corvette. 350+ votes. The Drive Your Story Tour kicked off in Miami — and the bar is officially set.

Seventy years in, and Carrera still doesn't do quiet entrances. On May 2, we pulled into Miami to kick off the Paint My Ride Tour — a seven-city celebration of 70 years of bold design, fast living, and individual expression. And Miami showed up exactly how we hoped it would.

If you weren't there, here's what you missed: two of Miami's most exciting artists going head-to-head on a 1979 Corvette Stingray, painting live, in real time, while the crowd voted with their phones.

BEFORE & AFTER | AMANDA VALDEZ

BEFORE & AFTER | ATOMIK

THE NUMBERS

350+

VOTES CAST

300+

CUSTOM TOTES

2

ARTISTS, ONE CAR

54%

WINNING MARGIN

THE WINNER

By 6 PM, the votes were in — and the crowd had spoken. Amanda Valdez took Miami with 54% of the vote, earning the $1,000 city prize and a spot in the national contest, where one artist will walk away with $10,000 at the end of the tour.

HOMETOWN HEROES

Both Amanda Valdez and ATOMIK are Miami staples — and it showed. From the moment doors opened, the energy around them was less car show, more meet-and-greet. Fans, fellow artists, and longtime collectors stopped by all day asking for photos, signed prints, and a few words on the work in progress.

They weren't just painting a car. They were celebrities in their own city, holding court in front of a hometown crowd. That's what Drive Your Story is built to be — Carrera showing up where culture already lives, not the other way around.

WORDS FROM THE ARTISTS

We sat down with both artists to talk about what brought them to the canvas — and what it means to make something that thousands of people will see in motion.

MEET

AMANDA VALDEZ

MEET

ATOMIK

THE MEDIA MOMENT

Editorial Partner

HIGHSNOBIETY

Our editorial media partner Highsnobiety was on the ground with local talent Drew In Color capturing the day. She walked the crowd through the artists' progress in real time, kept the voting urgency alive, and made sure every person who walked in knew exactly what they were standing in the middle of.

MORE THAN A PAINT JOB

The live painting was the center of gravity — but it was hardly the only thing happening. We built Miami to be a full Carrera experience, from the first step in to the last frame on.

300+ Custom Totes

We handed out over 300 personalized tote bags — stamped on-site, made to take home. A small reminder that Miami showed up, and Carrera was there with you.

Try On The New Collection

The full Spring/Summer 2026 collection was on display — including pieces from our 70th Anniversary capsule. If you tried on a pair, you were one of the first to see SS26 in person.

NEXT STOP

HOUSTON

May 16, 2026 - Discovery Green