A 38-year-old Brazilian man has been remanded in custody after allegedly ploughing his car into a group of pedestrians on Saturday night.

Guilherme Dal Bo faced Maroochydore Magistrates Court by videolink on eight counts of attempted murder on Monday. His case was adjourned until Friday pending a possible upgrade to one of the charges.

A 24-year-old woman is fighting for her life in Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital after the horrific incident on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Police allege Dal Bo, who was driving a white Toyota Yaris, was involved in a minor verbal altercation with a group of male pedestrians in Maroochydore.

Dal Bo is then alleged to have driven on, before circling back and mounting a kerb, hitting two women and six men head-on.

In addition to the hospitalisation of the 24-year-old woman, three men were seriously injured.

Police believe the two women were unknown to the men.

Detective Acting Inspector Peter Hocken said on Sunday the women were unaware of the earlier interaction between the men and “just happened to be walking the sidewalk at that time”.

He said the men had moved on and were minding their business when they observed the vehicle come back.

“Most reasonable people drive home and go to bed,” Hocken said.

Police allege the driver then fled the scene, dumping his car near his unit

Dal Bo, a tourist from Brazil who also has Italian and Australian nationality, spoke little in his brief appearance before acting magistrate Maxine Baldwin.

-AAP