Take that, Shelby Mustang

The blue oval is using this week's Detroit motor show to unleash its brutal Shelby GT500 Mustang (more here), but Texas-based Hennessey Performance Engineering has already readied a riposte in the form of its Limited-Edition 2010 HPE700 Camaro.

The low-volume special has been billed as the "love child of the 2010 Camaro and 2009 Corvette ZR1", as it derives propulsion from the latter's steroidal 6.2-litre supercharged V8.

The blown V8 thumps out 518kW and a plain ridiculous 972Nm, which makes the Shelby Mustang's 403kW and 691Nm appear distinctly inadequate (even though this is hardly the case).

The Hennessey-prepped Camaro also scores optional 15-inch carbon brakes from the Corvette ZR1, lightweight HRE wheels with Michelin PS2 tyres and a raft of suspension upgrades.

Aero tweaks include Hennessey's 'Cam-Aero' body upgrades, which comprise a carbonfibre rear lip spoiler, carbonfibre side rocker panels, carbonfibre front splitter and a new front fascia with hideaway-look headlights and front billet grille (a la '69 Camaro SS).

The HPE700 also features a translucent bonnet hump that shows off the rippling LS9 powerplant.

Naturally, all these goodies don't come cheap, and pricing for the Chevy-based bullet starts at $US109,500 ($155,000 in our dollars), but this outlay also earns buyers a one-day performance driving course at Lonestar Motorsports Park -- a quarter-mile dragstrip located adjacent to Hennessey's 24,000 square foot production facility and showroom.

Hennessey plans to auction off the first HPE700 Camaro to bidders at the 2009 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 13.

The company Hennessey will also start taking orders at the Barrett-Jackson auction, and the vehicle will be available to order from select Chevrolet dealers and from Hennessey Performance Engineering from January 19 onwards.