‘World’s wildest car festival’: $50,000 up for grabs in burnout competition at Summernats car festival in Canberra

Thousands of car enthusiasts have flocked to the nation’s capital to feast their eyes on elite cars worth more than $70m at “the world’s wildest car festival”.

About 130,000 people are expected to attend the Street Machine Summernats 37 car festival at Exhibition Park in Canberra over the weekend, with the event kicking off on January 2 and wrapping up on January 5.

Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez said the nation’s capital was “already jumping” in a press conference on Thursday.

“Summernats is like a big family reunion where the street machine community from all around Australia gathers every year with their mates to celebrate the stuff that they love,” Mr Lopez said.

“It’s cars, music, lifestyle — we’ve got business, great concerts, drifting, burn outs.”

Big music names Jet, Eskimo Joe and Thirsty Merc performed at the car festival on Friday night, with Hot Dub Time Machine slated to play on Saturday evening.

“We’re loving our music line-up this year … (it’s) good to have music at a festival here in Canberra,” Mr Lopez said.

Mr Lopez said a lucky patron could get their hands on $50,000 as part of the Pro Burnout Series.

“(Burnouts have) always been really popular, but they’re really starting to become mainstream,” he said.

“Drivers qualify all around Australia and New Zealand to get into the Grand Final at Summernats, and as I said, $50,000 on the line — it’s a pretty big show.”

He said Summernats brings something new every year, whether it be different cars, the people that drive them, or the enthusiasts.

“That’s something that’s really exciting for us — obviously to see all of our old friends come back, but see what’s happening there in the automotive scene,” he said.

The event boasts a shed of elite cars — including 20 never seen before builds unveiled at the festival — worth more than $70m, with Mr Lopez speaking to the “labour of love” and “labour of money” that car owners from the festival put in.

“It’s incredible, that’s the amount of money and resources that they put into it,” Mr Lopez said.

“Every car tells a story, every car means something to the people who built it.

“It’s about their mum, their dad, their family, their mates, because it’s not a solo endeavour.

“Building cars and presenting them to the level … it takes time.”

He said the event brings social, cultural and economic benefits to Canberra, with last year’s event having generated more than $40m for the ACT.

“That means that cafes, restaurants, other businesses, hospitality, accommodation are full in a really quiet period of time, and that means that generally a lot of young people in Canberra have got jobs through that Christmas and January period,” he said.

“The cultural and social impact is Summernats is intertwined with Canberra, it shows this great city in a very different light.

“There are a lot of fantastic events that happen in Canberra, but Summernats is definitely the best car festival of its type in the world, and it’s here in the nation’s capital.”

More than 10 cars were impounded and two people were arrested at last year’s event following an alleged fight and hooning both inside and outside of the festival, according to the ABC. More than 100 defect notices were also issued.

However Mr Lopez told the ABC 99 per cent of people attended the festival “for a great time” and promised there would be better behaviour at this year’s event.

The masthead reported hundreds of security personnel would be in attendance under a new contractor while more police would be on site this year as the event has been classed as a “major event”.

Mr Lopez earlier told Sky News that organisers worked closely with ACT Police, from the planning stage right through to the implementation of the event.

“As a proper street machine community, we also share their view of zero tolerance for poor behaviour on public roads,” he said.

“Events like Summernats are built to allow you to show off, whether registered or unregistered cart, in a safe environment.