Blackauto Battle 2026 Inaugural Series Shakes South Tangerang
The most prestigious automotive competition in Indonesia, Blackauto Battle 2026, has officially begun its series of clashes this year. Initiated by blackxperience.com, this platform for creativity among modification enthusiasts is set to visit three major cities in Indonesia.
Three venues have been chosen as hosts: AEON Mall South Tangerang (16 May) for the West region, Mangkunegaran Solo for the Central region, and the finale at Grand City Surabaya as the Final Battle location for the East region. The selection of these three points is based on facility availability and capable resources needed to stage a mass-scale automotive event.
The opening series for the West region was successfully held at AEON Mall South Tangerang on Saturday (16 May). The enthusiasm of modifiers was evident as they filled the event area.
“A hundred cars in total filled BlackAuto Battle 2026 Series One as representatives of the West Region,” explained Boy Prabowo, event coordinator, on Monday (18 May).
NEW CLASS INNOVATION
As a barometer of car modification trends in Indonesia, organisers introduced several concept refreshes for the 2026 competition season. Rule adjustments were applied to the Culture and Contest categories in the main Black Auto Modify class.
Not stopping there, exciting updates also occurred at the engine testing arena or Black Auto Dyno Test. This year, the committee opened a horsepower bracket class. This means all cars of various types can register without being limited by engine capacity, configuration, or any additional induction used. The engine power checks continue to rely on the Mainline Dynolog instrument from Australia to maintain measurement accuracy.
This innovation has paid off by drawing out ferocious power cars rarely seen on public roads.
“Many engines in this opening series boasted impressive horsepower, such as a Hilux with 654.9 HP, a Mitsubishi Evo IX at 801.4 HP, and a Mitsubishi Evo IV breaking through 1,023.3 HP,” added Boy with enthusiasm.
WORLD-CLASS STANDARDS
To preserve objectivity and fairness for all participants, BLACKAUTO BATTLE 2026 consistently engages professional associations. To assess neatness and quality of workmanship in the Black Auto Modify class, the organisers again entrusted the judging system to APACT (Asia Pacific Car Tuning).
Meanwhile, for the loudness contest and the quality of the sound system in the Black Out Loud class, the event collaborates with three international associations to accommodate all audio enthusiasts. “For Black Out Loud we still use three associations, namely iCAN representing Asia, EMMA representing Europe, and USACI representing the Americas,” explained Boy.
This collaboration among three different judging experts is expected to strengthen the standards of car audio competition in Indonesia to be more measured and of high quality.
GOLDEN TICKET TO JAPAN
Not just trophies and prize money, the main attraction of the event lies in its top honours. The organisers have prepared exclusive gifts for the four main winners: one Black Auto Master Contest champion, one Black Auto Master Culture champion, one King Of Black Contest winner, and one King Of Black Culture winner. They will be flown to Japan to attend the legendary automotive exhibition, Tokyo Auto Salon 2027, which will be held at Makuhari Messe in early to mid-January 2027.
In addition to the tight competition among participants, attendees at the opening series were also entertained with various fun activities, such as the Black Shot Challenge photography competition.
Many modification enthusiasts not only change seats and cabin colour, but also add several features that are useful.
After traversing two Indonesian regions, Solo on 25 May 2024 and Jakarta on 6 July 2024, the 2024 BlackAuto Battle final was successfully held in Surabaya.