The 29th Summernats, to be held from January 7 to 10 next year, is expected to set new records for attendance, participation and revenue brought into Canberra.
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Speaking at the official launch on Friday, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he could not imagine Canberra in January without the event, which he said was worth $20 million to the territory.
Event site director Dave "Colorado" Chappell, who travels from America to help pull it together each year, said the cars matched the best in the US in terms of quality and the event was unique.
"We don't do anything like this in America," he said.
Mr Barr said Summernats attendance had reached 108,000 in 2015 and that of these, 30,000 spectators had been visitors from interstate.
"Summernats provides a significant boost to the Canberra economy during the quieter summer months," he said. "It benefits many local businesses in the hospitality, retail and hotel industries.
"A recent report into the event shows that almost a third of those who attended last year said the festival, and their experience while in Canberra, changed their perception of our city for the better."
Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez said the event was going from strength to strength and the success of the first Red Centre Nats in Alice Springs mid-year had only been made possible by the strength of the Canberra event.
"Summernats is the biggest and best gathering of car enthusiasts in Australia," he said. "This year we had 1900 cars take part. [Next] year there should be 2000 plus."
Mr Lopez said the 2015 Summernats had also been a hit on TV with an estimated 1 million people tuning in to watch the annual documentary.
Next year's event will kick off with an expanded City Cruise, which is expected to see 300 cars, including some of the more heavily modified vehicles, drive into Civic on Thursday, January 7.
Car judging will be taking place, the Last Chance Shootout for wild card entries to the Burnouts will be held and Thursday night will end with a drive-in screening of The Dukes of Hazard.
Other entertainment highlights will include performances by You Am I, DJ Brooke Evers, Seth Sentry and, on Saturday night, the Hoodoo Gurus.
Saturday will also feature the Supercruise and the Summernats Fireworks Spectacular.
Mr Chappell, who said he loved his 100 days a year in Australia working on Summernats, said it was the regional differences, created by Australia's home-grown muscle cars, that made the event unique.
He cited cars such as the all-conquering XR, XT, XW and XY Falcon GTs which could never have been built in America.
"Americans wouldn't have bought a four-door performance car," he said. "It had to be a two-door."
Ford Australia only had the sedan body shell to work with and developed a unique classic that was, for a long time, the fastest four-door in the world.
Australian stylists also did things in a more subtle way than their American counterparts with the HQ Monaro hardtop, arguably the most elegant body shape this country ever produced, a true classic, according to Mr Chappell.
"In America the hottest ticket is the 1970 Super Sport Chevelle," he said. "But I lust after the HQ Monaro which is an unknown car in the US. It is almost like a cross between the Chevelle and the Camaro."
