Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has revealed how he lent his Ferrari Enzo to Top Gear after striking a deal with Jeremy Clarkson, a transaction that ended up breaking BBC rules on product placement. The car, a rare Ferrari Enzo, was one of only a handful in the UK at the time, and the Top Gear production team struggled to secure one for the show.
The Deal Behind the Loan
Speaking on Benedict Fowler's Road to Success podcast, Mason explained that he was initially reluctant to lend the car for free. However, after discussing it with Jeremy Clarkson, they agreed that Clarkson would promote Mason's book on the show in exchange for the loan. Mason said: 'I'd been approached by Top Gear to loan them, I think it was the Enzo. There were only a few in the UK anyway. None of us were enormously keen on lending the car for free. So that initially ruled the whole thing out, but I was talking to Jeremy about it and I said, ‘Shame, because I've just done this book and it would be quite a nice thing to get it on television.’'
Mason added: 'He said, ‘Give me a little time to have a look at this’. So basically, what he did was total overkill on selling the book.'
BBC Editorial Compliance Breach
Benedict Fowler revealed that he received a text from former Top Gear producer Andy Wilman detailing the consequences of the arrangement. Wilman's text read: 'My favourite memory of Nick's is his Top Gear appearance with the Enzo. It immortalised us in the BBC editorial compliance department. By BBC rules we weren't supposed to plug his book in exchange for the loan of the Enzo. But we thought, eff it, we're happy to do that. And from then on, that film was used in every editorial standards lecture to newcomers about the rules of product placement at the BBC. Nick's and my badge of honour.'
The segment went ahead and was included in the final cut of Top Gear that aired to audiences. As the programme continued its trajectory into the mid-to-late 2000s, it soared in popularity, ultimately becoming one of the BBC's most valuable editorial properties.
