In fact, it's much the same as the stonking Holden Monaro; a lairy sports car of biblical proportions. Stuart Milne reckons it's the only hairy chested muscle car that's worth its salt.

The Aussies love a good time muscle car. It must have an engine that could tear your face off, rear wheel drive and a chassis that turns every roundabout into an oversteer playground.

And to be honest, the Australians aren't too different to us - which is why Vauxhall had the wonderful idea of bringing the Holden Monaro to the UK and sticking their Griffin badge on the front.

From the moment I first laid eyes on the Monaro a few years ago, I was smitten. It was big, curvy and had a scowl that could melt concrete.

I knew it would be a corker to drive.

Spin forward about six months and I was turning the ignition key to a 5.7-litre version, that was finished in a yellow paint so bright not even Linda Barker would touch it with a barge pole

But that didn't matter - somehow it added to the appeal - because the Monaro is all about that engine and the fact it can drift sideways with the best of them.

Fire it up and the whole car rocks, and if you pull away at any more than 2rpm, the wheels will spin as a wall of torque overcomes the tyres.

It was bonkers, but still wasn't enough for us UK nutters. Vauxhall thought the majority of buyers were going to plump for the £29,000 5.7 model. Pah.

They didn't read our minds very well. For an extra £8,000, you could get a spit-kicking 6-litre, 403bhp VXR version.

With a pair of nostrils sprouting from the bonnet, huge 19inch wheels and a lairy bodykit, the VXR was a 170mph hooligan. The stats read like a degree-level physics textbook: 5.2secs to 60mph, 390lb/ft of torque at an ultra-low 4,400rpm and a 75-litre fuel tank that gave a range of about 4 miles.

You see, with that prodigious performance, fuel consumption was about as bad as you'll get this side of a 747. Vauxhall quote 25.7mpg, but I struggled to reach 20mpg in the 5.7 version. That said, my journeys comprised solely of Central London traffic and some 'spirited' B-road driving.

The Monaro might have been thirsty, but is the most intoxicating experience I've ever had in a car. A surge of adrenalin rushes through your veins when you hear that V8 roar, launching you up the road on a wave of torque and good ol' Australian muscle.

You just can't help but drive the Monaro hard and fast.

I was so absorbed in the whole experience of driving this outback-bred beast that I can't recall much about the interior or what came as standard. Frankly Cameron Diaz could have been next to me naked, and I wouldn't have noticed.

It is, bar none, the best car ever to wear the Vauxhall badge, and I simply cannot believe that they've stopped importing this big bruiser. But all is not lost - you can pick up a used one for the price of a new Golf GTi.