Oz’s biggest horsepower party has partnered with a veteran Kiwi promoter to extend the smoke show’s international reach

It’s been a whirlwind few months for the Summernats family, announcing their first ever venture off Australian shores with Summernats USA happening at Cleetus McFarland’s Freedom Factory March 12-14, 2026.

In front of a packed grandstand in the midst of Summernats 38’s Saturday night festivities, Andy Lopez announced another exciting overseas trip for Summernats, this time to our closest neighbour New Zealand.

Summernats New Zealand will be held at Mystery Creek near Hamilton from February 26th- 28th, 2027. It’s a partnership between Summernats and the Out There Productions team, and local promoter Azhar Bhamji and his company Premier Events NZ, who’ll not only be doing allthe logistics that make the event run, but will be helping bring the uniquely New Zealand flavor that’ll be at the heart of the event’s success.

“Azhar and I have been talking about doing something in New Zealand since 2017,” begins Andy Lopez. “It really gained momentum in the last six to twelve months. We’ve got the perfect venue at Mystery Creek that’s four minutes from Hamilton airport, with direct flights from Sydney, the Gold Coast and other Aussie cities.,” he continues.

“It’s got a huge exhibition space, a cruise route and we’re going to do Skid Row. We’ll have burnouts, show cars, concerts – we’re going to make it the proper Summernats experience, built especially for Kiwis.”

Summernats NZ is the latest in a long list of wildly successful automotive events for Azhar and his team at Premier Events.

“I’ve been running events in New Zealand for 25 years. We used to run the Four and Rotary Nationals which was almost a New Zealand version of Australia’s Jamboree event. As time went by, this scene was more and more influenced by the V8 scene so I built a brand new event called Chrome which became a real street machined-themed event with V8s and blowers,” begins the intoxicatingly enthusiastic Azhar of his event organisation acumen, which also includes coordinating Mad Mike’s Summer Bash and GT-R Festival New Zealand.

“We always had an eye on Summernats as the pinnacle car show in the region, but it wasn’t until Andy and the team announced the American event that we knew everything had aligned, and here we are!”

Perhaps most importantly, Summernats NZ won’t simply be a matter of picking up the Australian event and expecting New Zealand enthusiasts to instantly connect with it.

“Everyone looks up to Summernats Australia, but it’s important for Summernats NZ to be run by Kiwis, for Kiwis,” emphasises Azhar. “We’ve got the perfect venue right near Hamilton airport and everything from the New Zealand bands we’re working with to the venue layout and the whole event feel will be all for the Kiwiana.”

Azhar is quick to point out that the gravity of the Summernats NZ announcement will wake up New Zealand’s muscle car scene, and perhaps even stoke the embers and encourage some new builds.

“This is going to bring out cars that never see the light of day, and I know there are shitloads of them! And I know that today’s announcement is going to motivate people to build cars specifically for the event, to say they were at the first one. Events like Beach Hop and Chrome prove that the hot rod and muscle car scene is alive and well in New Zealand,” he affirms.

And in a rousing display of support for the event, Aeroflow have already come on as a sponsor of
Summernats NZ.

There are plenty of Kiwis on deck at Summernats 38 and the prospect of a Summernats in NZ has them frothing! Nzim Poshklidi is one Kiwi burnout star who is pumped at the prospect of Summernats NZ:

“Honestly, that’s like the most amazing news I’ve ever heard. Like, this is going to be a massive, massive game changer for New Zealand. It’s going to be wild. New Zealand, hurry up. Get the cars ready. Start spending money on the cars. We got to show these boys how we do it. This is going to be crazy, man. can’t wait. I’m super excited. New Zealand, Summernats is coming for you. Let’s go!”

Competitor entries and spectator tickets will go on sale soon. Head to www.summernatsnz.com and register to receive up-to-date information.