World Record Aussie Smoke Show at Summer Nationals

Some of our all-time favorite needle-movers are the Aussies. They don’t know how to go easy when it comes to performance. With a blend of Australian machines mixed with some American classics, the Aussie street machine and drag racing scene has flourished for decades. They go all in when it comes to horsepower.

One of the longest-running events in Australia is the Street Machine Summer Nats held in January – the dead of winter here stateside, the height of blistering summers down under for the Aussie. If you have an ounce of oil in your blood you know this festival well. Over 2,500 cars and 100,000 people strong, the Summer Nats takes place at Canberra’s Exhibition Park and is Australia’s ultimate party celebrating the street machine lifestyle and those who live it.

The event has a colorful history and it’s easy to see why. First held in 1988, the Summer Nats was founded by renowned “Rev Head” Chic Henry. For our money, the signature feature of the Summer Nats is the burnout competitions. These tire-frying exhibitions are the stuff of legend. But it is their Guinness World Record burnout attempts we’re focused on today.

Even though Hot Rod Magazine’s Power Tour has attempted to break the Guinness World Record for simultaneous car burnouts the past two years with impressive efforts, the Aussie’s own the official, certified Guinness World Record. It went down January 1st, 2015 and involved 103 cars at Summer Nats #28. Insane doesn’t even begin to describe the mechanical fury of 103 cars and an estimated 61,000 horsepower. The fogbank was seen for miles. The “Goodyear freckles” were everywhere. It was pure genius.

Dear Australia, we salute you!