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  His 1997 HSV Maloo is one of only a couple of hundred made. Photo Gallery

Car fan Raffael Galardi loves his Alfa Romeos.

He owns some classic models and has his eyes firmly fixed on obtaining a rare supercar when it comes to Australia next year. But a favourite in his collection, what he calls his "toy" is about as far removed from a classic Italian sportscar as you can get.

It's a Holden ute, but not just any humble workhorse. His 1997 HSV Maloo is one of only a couple of hundred made. And the ute, numbered 19, was fully optioned and its engine seriously enhanced by Holden, before it was sold to its orignal owner.

To make it even rarer the owner then had Holden convert it to LPG. Fully aware of its rarity and excellent condition Galardi bought it from its original owner, a NSW collector, four years ago. "It was in mint condition. It was stored in a garage with a cover over it. It had been driven very lightly."

It has about 40,000km on the clock, which is significantly less than most. Industry guides say the average done by this model is now upwards of 240,000km. Galardi doesn't drive it that often now but it is no longer in storage.

He loves the noise and the power that the muscle car ute produces. "It's the Aussie thing. A Holden ute gives a sense of pride the Australian way," he says. "It's a little big of magic. Its the presence on the road that drivers of muscle cars enjoy."

The ute also has a sense of history. "It's very representative of the way I grew up. "My father had one (a ute), an older one though."

Galardi says the performance enhancements to the engine added 82kW to the five-litre V8's original 185kW of grunt. The conversion to gas reduces that somewhat but he says it still leaves it as a fantastic car to drive.

"You really don't notice it that much. "I'm not so much the rev-head. "But it's the sensible thing to do to a car that's a big V8. "It has so much power and it costs nothing to run. "It has a 100-litre gas tank. I can't remember the last time I had to put gas in it."

Considering that the average fuel economy claimed by HSV for the car on petrol is a whopping 17-litres per 100km and the way many of these cars get driven they will slurp fuel at a far greater rate the factory-conversion makes sense.

Galardi says that apart from the conversion to gas the car is in original condition which enhances its value. "The collectors are looking for something untouched. "It's a collectable car that can be affordable to the average Australian worker. "I've been offered $25,000 for it. I said I really don't want to sell it."

He says good examples of the car sell for around $30,000 and they are getting rarer. "Over time it's going to become a bit of a hen's tooth."

The Aussie ute has come a long way since the days when it was a workhorse. Holden unveiled its first ute, the 48-215, in 1951, and it quickly became a hit for companies around town as much as in the country. The ute took a serious step into the realm of two-seater sportscar when HSV expanded its range of high-performance machines to include utes in 1990.

HSV spokesman Simon Frost says the Maloo has been a huge success for the firm with 6393 made up to last month. "It is our second biggest seller," he says.

Just 280 VS series two (VSII) Maloos were made between June 1996 and August 1997.

With the launch of the VT model by Holden in 1997 the Maloo was also upgraded. It became the strangley named VSII at VT and the next year a series three version was made, further extending the original VS lineage.

In the middle of all that HSV celebrated 10 years of production by releasing a 10th anniversary VSII car. Just 10 were made between February and April 1998 and you could have had any colour you wanted - as long as it was bronze.