The most powerful muscle car in the world is coming to Australia.

It’s a machine so focused that engineers removed one of its headlights so they could fit an air intake, one that helps suck in enough oxygen to make it the gruntiest four-seat car in the world.

Dodge’s Challenger SRT Hellcat is big news in America thanks to its supercharged 6.2-litre V8 that makes 527kW and 881Nm of grunt.

Fiat Chrysler Australia cannot sell the car locally as it is not built in right-hand-drive, so workshops that convert American performance cars for the Australian market are scrambling to fill a niche market for the big coupe.

Only one car in Australian showrooms has more grunt than the Dodge, and Ferrari’s $690,745, 545kW F12 Berlinetta is out of reach to all but fabulously wealthy collectors.

Crossover Car Conversions specialist Craig Dean estimates the handful of Hellcats will cost around $180,000 once they land in Australia, making them something of a bargain.

“We have a couple of customers interested in them,” Dean says.

“They’re not officially on sale yet [in America] but when they become available we’ll try and get some.

“You can never have too much horsepower.”

Queensland Challenger specialist Norm Clarke says he is also certain to introduce the cars locally.

“We’ve had quite a bit of interest in them, I’ve got three that I have to order plus one for myself,” he says.

“We are definitely bringing it in. They will definitely be a weapon.”

The Hellcat has an advantage of almost 100kW over Australia’s most powerful car, the 430kW HSV GTS sedan.

Dodge provides Hellcat owners with red and black keys to the car, and only the red key can unleash the full power of its V8.

The car also comes with a valet mode that reduces power levels, blocks access to first gear and locks on the stability control using a four-digit pin code.

Dodge’s American arm says the ultimate Challenger can cover the 0-400 metre dash in 11.2 seconds, or 10.8 seconds when fitted with sticky street-legal drag tyres – enough to put in in genuine supercar territory with cars such as the Porsche 911 Turbo S and Nissan GT-R.