Nick Mason’s Ferrari 250 GTO was instrumental in the band’s late-’80s revival.
We invite you to join us on a musical journey back to the 1980s. We’re heading to 1987 and the height of the 1980s glam rock scene. But, leave your acid-washed jeans behind. The glam rock genre wasn’t the reason for the world’s highest-grossing tour of the decade. Pink Floyd, prog-rock icons, won the title thanks to their massive Momentary LAPSE of Reason tour supporting their album. This story needs to be told with a Ferrari twist.
Pink Floyd is rightfully considered one of the most influential and successful musical acts in history. But things were different in the 1980s. After reaching superstardom with albums such as Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall, tensions within the band saw Roger Waters and Richard Wright leave the group in 1985. Wright and guitarist/singer Nick Mason reunited later to finish Momentary Lpse Of Reason in 1986. However, Waters was not there.
What does this all have to do with the car industry? Nick Mason was very interested in cars and racing at that time. His Ferrari 250 GTO was a prized possession. Although it wasn’t worth the $40m it’s currently valued at, it was still a very valuable asset in the late 1980s. Pink Floyd was, however, not as financially sound. The group that was reformed didn’t have a prominent founder member and hadn’t toured extensively for ten years.
Given the high-end (and costly) live shows that the band was famous for, as well as legal challenges from Roger Waters’ fallout, there was a lot of uncertainty about the viability and profitability of a worldwide tour. Gilmour, Mason and Mason used their own money to fund the tour. Mason used his GTO, which he had cherished, as collateral.
We now know that the concerns were unfounded. The album was a huge success and Pink Floyd played 197 shows between September 1987 and July 1989 in various locations around the world. It was Pink Floyd’s most successful tour in 1980s history, grossing $135 million.
It wouldn’t have been possible without the Ferrari 250 GTO, a car that is the most expensive automobile in the world.