A record-breaking year to remember in the Haltech Horsepower Heroes has come to a close, with Darren Portelli’s HQ Holden romping home to victory with a best run in the finals today of 3697hp.

It backs up his original record-breaking run on Thursday of 3513hp, a run that’d already broken the previous year’s record set by the MAKDADDY VL Commodore at 2504hp.

“I didn’t expect it, it made nearly 3700hp!” says Darren. “I’m stoked, I supposed it [the weather] cooled down a bit.”

The mega run from the twin 88mm turbo, Dart block fatty Chev handed Darren the overall prize and first in the 8CYL Forced Induction class. Fellow Dandy Engines customer Daniel Szabolics did make a record-breaking run the day prior at 3786hp. Unfortunately, a suspected issue with the car forced them to pull out before the finals today on Sunday.

Second place overall went to Anthony Meskos FG Falcon ute, which also reset the six cylinder record for a Barra at Haltech Horsepower Heroes with a 2330hp pull from the de-stroked 3.8-litre mill. He also earned top honours in the 6CYL Forced Induction class, and the Boost Demon award for clocking 65psi!

Third place overall and second in the 8CYL Forced Induction class went to last year’s Haltech Horsepower Hero Lee and Anna Povey’s JKLHYD VL Calais, the twin turbo, 427 cube Dart LS combo bettering its winning run last year of 2109hp to 2117hp.

Second place in 6CYL Forced Induction belongs to James Whitfields HQ One Tonner. Formerly a Drag Challenge class winner in the hands of Stephen Micallef, the big ‘Q is now re-powered from a big-block Chevy to a stroker, 3.3-litre Dart block 2JZ! After a 1647hp qualifying run, it came to the finals with a 1602hp run.

Another class where the records were toppled this weekend was in the 8CYL Aspirated, Michael Saad’s Mk1 Ford Capri thumping out a smidge over 1100hp in qualifying from the experimental BK Engines big-block Ford. In the finals, 1097hp was more than enough to seal the win and confirm its stature in the Summernats dyno hall of fame.

Other awards given outside of the main running included the MACKED R34 GT-R of Morad Mahmoud, which thumped out 2111hp in qualifying from the 3.4-litre twin cam RB, with a stack of nitrous for the Spray N Pray award. Morad qualified for the finals, but elected not to run.

The final category of 6CYL Aspirated was knocked out by Steve Pembrey’s 1985 Toyota Corolla KE70, rocking a 2GR 3.5-litre V6 swap from an Aurion! “I just got it from a $2000 wreck, and the rear wheel drive Celica W57 gearbox bolts straight up,” he says. It made a peak of 285hp, almost 100hp more than second-placed Rick Yates in the Aussie six LJ Torana.

The Rev Monster plate was once again given to Ellis “Spike” Dickson’s aspirated 13B rotary-swapped Suzuki Mighty Boy, clocking 11,000rpm during his qualifying run.

Dyno operator Adam Rogash always chooses his favourite build to see the dyno over the weekend, this year being Jamie Seears’ Nissan Silvia S15. The Silvia still uses a 2.0-litre SR20 but with a VE head, so it screams to 10,000rpm whilst sucking down 35psi and knocked out 803hp – from a 2.0-litre!

All in all, it was a phenomenal showing for the Haltech Horsepower Heroes for 2026, dyno operator Adam Rogash singing the praises of all who took part. “It has been a phenomenal year, who would’ve thought we’d see so many records tumble in the same year,” he says. “Three cars making 3000hp, breaking records for GT-Rs, Barras, aspirated cars, so big shout out to everyone and my crew for working so hard all weekend to put on a show for everyone, it was standing room only all weekend.”

Haltech Horsepower Heroes Summernats 38 2026 results

• 8CYL FORCED INDUCTION
• 1st Darren Portelli, HQ Holden – 3697hp
• 2nd Lee Povey, VL Calais – 2117hp
• 3rd Brett Muscat, VK Commodore – 1779hp
• 8CYL ASPIRATED
• 1st Michael Saad, Ford Capri – 1097hp
• 2nd Jacob Farrigia, Ford Mustang – 660hp
• 3rd Michael Furhnam, XD Falcon – 604hp
• 6CYL FORCED INDUCTION
• 1st Anthony Meskos, FPV FG Falcon – 2330hp
• 2nd James Whitfield, HQ One Tonner – 1602hp
• 3rd Derek Johnson, Toyota Supra – 1548hp
• 6CYL ASPIRATED
• 1st Steve Pembrey, Toyota Corolla KE70 – 285hp
• 2nd Rick Yates, LJ Torana – 188hp
• 3rd Shane Wagner, LC Torana – 176hp
• Spray N Pay – Morad Mahmoud, Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R
• Rev Monster – Ellis Dickson, Suzuki Mighty Boy, 11,000rpm
• Torque Titan – Daniel Szabolics, HQ Holden Monaro
• Boost Demon – Anthony Meskos, FPV FG, 65psi
• Outstanding Engineering – Jamie Seears, Nissan Silvia S15