I’ve loved driving ever since I bought my first car in 1962. I should have expected a 30-year-old Austin 7 that cost £20 to have issues. Naturally it spent a lot of time on my parents’

driveway in Hampstead waiting to be fixed. When Pink Floyd became successful in the 1970s I really started to indulge in my passion for cars. I bought one racing car, then another and

suddenly I had a collection on my hands. Once you get started with classics it’s difficult to stop. I used to keep my vehicles in a ramshackle warehouse in north London. Then King’s Cross

became gentrified and the situation was untenable. I moved the whole lot to an aircraft hanger, near Cirencester, in the Cotswolds. It’s a pretty spot and was used by the Royal Flying Corps

pretty rare stuff, like a Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage, a McLaren F1 and a Bugatti once driven by Juan-Manuel Fangio himself. It’s not all exotica. There’s a Sinclair C5 electric vehicle, a

Trabant from Eastern Europe and a Model T Ford once owned by Coco the Clown. However, if there is one special car I’ll never sell it’s my Ferrari 250 GTO. Ferrari pictures gallery motoring

cars Just 39 were built between 1962 and 1964. Buyers had to be vetted by Enzo Ferrari himself. I paid £35,000 for mine in 1977, using money from the _Dark Side of the Moon_ album. People

thought I was mad at the time but some experts claim it’s now worth around £30 million. I know a lot of very wealthy owners who keep one in their collection. They all had to take a deep

breath buying a GTO – not because of the price but the fact everybody thought they were crazy. Then after 30 years of ownership, you suddenly become the Warren Buffett of motorsport. The

drive down to my country home near Chippenham is on fast A-roads, perfect for a V12. Although the GTO was built for the track, the handling is quite forgiving. The Ferrari is beautiful to

look at but the interior is pretty basic by modern standards. Sometimes I stop for a lunch at The Bathurst Arms, in North Cerney. I don’t visit many pubs these days but this one is a pretty

18th century inn set by the River Churn. The local hunt used to meet there and it’s very relaxed. Negotiating a small town like Cirencester in an old car isn’t too difficult, although I

wouldn’t want to get stuck for a long period in London traffic. The cabin becomes very hot from the engine and it’s noisy, too. Air-conditioning wasn’t an option in those days. The GTO is

strictly a two-seater, so if I were doing the journey with my wife Annette, and our three black Labradors Flash, Alpha and Layla, I would pick our Audi RS6 Avant instead. It’s the perfect

all-rounder – lots of room for a drum kit and fast enough to lose your licence. Annette is a very good driver and we share spells behind the wheel. It’s the same with our Squirrel

helicopter. We both fly and decide before we set off who is going to be captain for the day. The dogs don’t mind travelling in the back of the chopper either. The trouble with touring in a

rock band is that it involves a lot of flying. I hated aircraft until Vic Norman persuaded me that the best way to get over it was become a pilot myself. I started training in 1983 and

Annette the following year – it was the most expensive therapy I’ve had. The A429 south of Cirencester past Kemble and Malmesbury can be a joy, or very frustrating in heavy traffic. Often it

depends on the time of day but a Bank Holiday Weekend is probably the worst. The Cotswolds are popular with every kind of tourist, including lots on two wheels. I like riding motorbikes

myself but I’m not a committed biker. I own a Ducati Monster that I ride from our home in Hampstead to my office in Islington. A motorcycle is brilliant for London commuting but, like the

GTO, it’s no good for carrying Labradors. Once I’ve crossed the M4 motorway at junction 17, it’s just a couple of miles before the A350 turns west around the outskirts of Chippenham. If I’m

not in a rush, I can head north to the pretty village of Castle Combe, which is famous for a race circuit that’s given me plenty of pleasure over the years. I’m 73 now and still enjoy

driving on the track, although my tastes have certainly changed. There are two or three Formula One cars in my collection that are now way beyond my abilities. These days I want something

slightly older and slower. Ferrari 812 Superfast gallery Ideally, I like an engine I can work on myself. The problem with modern supercars is that you need a computer more than a spanner

under the bonnet. I prefer something with parts I can buy from a shop and restore using a Haynes manual. I know I can’t say that about the 250 GTO but it still gives me a massive buzz behind

the wheel. It’s a sense of feeling very comfortable with a car you know. I own a LaFerrari too but there is always trepidation when I ponder on the 900bhp that is about to be unleashed. We

live quite close to Castle Combe. There are some pretty places to eat around the area but I used to enjoy visiting The Two Pigs, at Corsham. The pub had a brilliant blues session every

Monday night. Unfortunately, it closed earlier this year. I’m not sure now much time I can spend in the country this year. I was judging at the Pebble Beach concours d’elegance in California

last weekend – a very special classic car event that I was honoured to be attending. There is also a GTO anniversary event in Italy. _Nick Mason was speaking to Jeremy Taylor_ A PINK FLOYD

EXHIBITION HAS RECENTLY OPENED AT THE V&A MUSEUM IN LONDON (WWW.VAM.AC.UK, UNTIL OCTOBER 1). _THEIR MORTAL REMAINS_ IS THE FIRST RETROSPECTIVE OF ARTEFACTS FROM THE BAND.  MASON SAYS:

"THE CURATORS HAVE DONE A BRILLIANT JOB PUTTING THE EXHIBITION TOGETHER. THANKS TO THEM, IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE A VERY BAD CAR BOOT SALE." THE FACTS Ferrari 250 GTO Engine: 3.0-litre

V12 Top speed: 170mph Number built: 39 Price new: £6,000 Price paid: £35,000 in 1977 Value now: £30 million (est) FOR MORE TIPS AND ADVICE, VISIT OUR ADVICE SECTION, OR SIGN UP TO OUR

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