Ford Motor Co. is opening the doors to a massive new archive outside Detroit, bringing roughly 150 historic vehicles, concept cars and racing machines under one roof.
The 79,000-square-foot Ford Vault opens Friday and consolidates vehicles previously stored across several locations in southeast Michigan, giving employees and visitors a firsthand look at more than a century of the automaker’s history.
“It’s going to be a spectacular place for people to come and visit,” Ted Ryan, Ford’s archives and heritage brand manager, told FOX Business ahead of the opening.
The collection includes a 1910 Model T, World War II-era military vehicles, concept vehicles, a Formula One race car and a 10-cylinder Mustang, he said.
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Ryan said Ford began building out its U.S. heritage fleet about three years ago after CEO Jim Farley pushed the company to develop a collection similar to ones it maintained overseas.
Ford ultimately gathered more than 60 concept vehicles, roughly 50 racing vehicles and dozens of others from its archives, bringing the collection to about 150 vehicles.
Previously stored across multiple locations, including the garage at Ford’s former headquarters, the vehicles are now being brought together at the Vault.
Among them is a 1941 Ford GP, an early military vehicle tied to Ford’s role in America’s World War II industrial effort.
Ryan said Ford went on to build roughly 282,000 GPWs during the war.
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Another standout is a 1998 Stewart Formula One car, a reminder of Ford’s long history in motorsports.
Other vehicles showcase some of Ford engineers’ more unusual creations.
“Some of our crazy smart engineers figured out how to make a 10-cylinder car, but then how to cram it into a Mustang and a Mustang body. And so it’s just insane,” Ryan said.
But the Vault isn’t intended only to preserve Ford’s past. Ryan said the collection can also serve as inspiration for today’s designers and engineers.
“It matters because to look forward, you always have to know where you’ve been,” Ryan said.
He pointed to vehicles such as the Bronco and Mustang, saying designers can study what made earlier generations distinctive without simply recreating them.
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Upon entering, visitors will be greeted by two Ford GTs and a 1910 Model T, followed by rows of vehicles spanning generations of Ford history.
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“It’s just going to car after car after car, where, if someone wanted to, they could devote however much time just to do a deep dive into not just what that car meant, but Ford’s role in culture and society,” Ryan said. “[There are] stories within stories.”
Earlier this year, Ford also put its history on display in Washington, D.C., opening a free exhibit at Union Station as part of the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.
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