Nick Mason's Ferrari Testarossa for sale
A Ferrari icon once owned by a rock legend - form a disorderly queue...
It would probably be reasonable to suggest that Nick Mason is known by many as much for his cars as his music. That Live 8 reunion, Pink Floyd’s first performance together in more than 24 years, was itself in July 2005, almost 17 years ago - when Tony Blair was still Prime Minister. As if to prove the point, 2005 was a year after Into The Red was first published, Mason’s book chronicling ownership of some of the world’s most exciting cars. With a little help from Mark Hales, of course - it’s well worth seeking out if you’ve not read it already. For those of us not, er, mature enough to have known Pink Floyd at their peak, the book introduced Mason as a car nut first, drummer second.
Perhaps his most famous automobile is the Ferrari 250 GTO; the original bumf for the book speaks of it being “highly expensive”, with “a value of £10m at its peak”. Ah, sweet, innocent, early 21st century. But Mason has also owned, amongst many others, a Ferrari T3 F1 car, an F40, a 250MM, a LaFerrari and this very Testarossa. And that’s just the Ferraris…
Said to be ordered new when collecting his F40 from Maranello - as if the trip wasn’t going to be memorable enough - this 1989 example was owner by Mason for three years. At which point he part exchanged it for a competition 365 GTB/4 Daytona - naturally. So not exactly long-term ownership by his exalted standards but, still, there are plenty of Testarossas out there that weren’t first owned by Pink Floyd’s drummer.
Originally Blu Sera, the Testarossa was later resprayed Rosso Scuderia. Which does seem somewhat of a shame when you consider how magnificent it once looked painted an inky dark blue - so it should be no surprise that the last owner (who had the car for a decade) bought it with the intention of returning the Testarossa to the original colour. Another owner shouldn’t feel guilty about getting the job done.
That aside, it’s a pretty lovely Testarossa, being sold with a detailed history and plenty of original paperwork. It’s believed to be one of just 268 remaining UK Testarossas; if it goes back to blue then this will be one of only five.
Despite having covered less than a thousand miles a year since 1989, there are plenty of lower mileage Testarossas out there for those that want them. This is definitely a car from the higher maintenance era of Ferrari, one for special occasions than more regular use. However, even those who don’t remember the Testarossas in period have grown up admiring them, with values now reflecting that. This one is £120k, with comparable Testarossas available at more money - and later TRs pricier still. So you’ve missed the boat on even vaguely affordable flat-12 Ferraris (or 180-degree V12s, for the pedants); on the other hand, this one has some additional provenance for no premium. And it’ll be one of the best looking Testarossas when it’s blue again…
It’s all part of the bulls
t hierarchy thats now put celebrities up there after Gods and Prophets, Kings and Queens, Lords and Ladies, etc. What or why does it matter who’s owned it? It’s like the old cliché “one lady owner”, as if because it was woman owned its going to have been better looked after (i assume thats the inference).As long as the car has been cared for and looked after I don’t car if it was owned by Nick Mason or Fred the Ferrari aficionado.
The price for this does seem awfully competitive, which makes me wonder if there’s a lot of deferred servicing required. These are proper brave pills to own - yes, they’re never likely to go down in value, but the cost of keeping them in serviceable condition can be utterly horrific. The later 512TR models are a lot better on this front - but also a lot more expensive to purchase.
Interesting that 7 out of 22 failed to reach their reserve.
His GTO has to be > £30m now. Fair bet his GTO made him significantly more money than Dark Side Of The Moon.
That said I worked for Microsoft back in the day and 2 Microsoft execs owned 250 GTOs, Jon Shirley who was a sales guy and Greg Whitten who was a techie. I'd be willing to bet there's no other company that pays their employees enough for that - they probably did quite well from the car too!
Given the crazy money being asked for some cars, I think these are great value.
I'd rather it be red than blue as well, and I don't like Ferraris in any other colour than red.
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