Ford Motor Co. has opened its new Vault, a 79,000-square-foot (7,339-square-metre) facility housing 125 historically significant vehicles, offering car enthusiasts a glimpse into the automaker’s 123-year history.

The company on Saturday welcomed selected members of the public and employees to explore its collection, which includes rare concept cars, Hollywood Mustangs, historic police cruisers and a 1938 ambulance. Tickets sold out quickly, but Ford said further public visits would be arranged.

The Vault, located inside a former Amazon fulfilment centre in Romulus near Detroit, brings together vehicles previously kept at Ford’s Dearborn headquarters and other locations.

The collection includes a 2005 Mustang GT prototype, nicknamed “Johnny Cash” after the singer’s song “One Piece at a Time”. The vehicle helped pave the way for the Shelby GT350 and is being displayed for the first time.

Also on display are the first three cars to finish the 1966 Le Mans race, later portrayed in the film “Ford v Ferrari”; a right-hand-drive 1910 Model T built in Britain and added to Ford’s Heritage Fleet in 2025; and a 1973 Mustang convertible featured in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”.

Ford said the facility will serve as a working archive, allowing designers and engineers to study the company’s historic innovations and experiments while developing future vehicles.

Ted Ryan, Ford’s Archives and Heritage Brand Manager, said the company plans to make the collection accessible to Michigan’s car community.