Canberra's long-reigning king of horsepower, Jake Edwards, is preparing to lose his crown.
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A change to measurement technology has come to Canberra's Summernats this year, and with it have come some heavyweight, specialist hyper-horsepower cars which will end his time at the top.
Edwards' bright yellow Holden Torana, built at his Mitchell workshop, set the Summernats record of 2038 horsepower several years ago.
The record was posted using what regular competitors now call the old-fashioned technique: on a rolling-road dynamometer, which uses steel rollers to allow the direct transfer of engine power to the rear tyres, and then electronically measures the output recorded.
However, engine power outputs have now become so extreme - and in the next few days will reach levels not seen at Summernats before - that even specialised drag-racing tyres struggle to cope safely with the rotational stresses.
The extreme outputs have exceeded the protection provided by special tyre guards and safety cages for cars sitting on a rolling-road dynamometer.
For the first time at Summmernats, this year's "horsepower heroes" will use hub dynamometers. This means the cars competing for the highest horsepower across a range of categories will have their rear wheels removed and the hubs bolted directly to the measurement machine.
For Edwards, that means his crown will almost certainly be lost.
While he's a little annoyed at most likely losing his title on a technicality, he recognises that safety has to take precedence.
"It's now got to a point where the engines are so powerful that the stress transfers directly to the rear tyres, which start to deform badly," he said.
"So there's a very high risk of tyres exploding and damage being done to the car, the dyno and people around.
"When you take the tyres off and bolt the rear hubs directly to the machine, the danger is reduced but you are always going to get much bigger horsepower numbers because you eliminate a lot of variables, such as wheelspin.
"Even a really good four-cylinder car - and we will have a Holden Gemini here from Murrrumbateman this year which will be pretty amazing - could make as much as 1000 horsepower on hub dyno.
"So while my Torana will probably still hold the record for a rolling-road dyno, there's a couple of specialised cars out of Sydney at Summernats this year which, when they are bolted to the machine, will knock my numbers out of the park."
One of the cars coming to Summernats is a twin-turbo Commodore with a Chevrolet V8. Unable to be driven on the road, it is specifically designed to "race" other cars only on a measurement device such as a dynamometer.
To reach extreme engine outputs requires a high degree of engineering skill and knowledge. The smaller the engine size, the higher the internal stress levels. Highly specialised engine components, tested and proven under duress, are a must - but even those fail at the highest horsepower levels.
"I've had a turbocharger blow at Summernats during a competition and it just shattered into a thousand bits," Mr Edwards said.
"So this year I've decided to step aside and help out some mates with their cars."
