Putting a 2015 Ford Mustang on Top of The Empire State Building

Ford Mustang Empire State 2

The Ford Mustang is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and to commemorate the event, they’re putting a 2015 Ford Mustang on the top of the Empire State Building. You might think it’d be a bit tricky, and you’d be absolutely right.

The reason they’ve decided to do this is because way back in 1965 they put a 1964 Ford Mustang up there and they thought it was a good time to do it again. This is only the second time in the building’s 83 years that a car has been on display at the 86th floor Observation Deck.

Ford worked with longtime supplier DST Industries of Romulus, Michigan to work out the logistics of the project since they’re the ones who helped them get the first Mustang to the top. Since the Observation Deck is too high for a portable crane on the street and a helicopter can’t navigate past the spire, the only solution was the elevators.

Ford Mustang Empire State 1

This meant going to New York City to inspect the site and take detailed measurements of the freight elevator and two passenger elevators that would be used to carry the 2015 Ford Mustang all the way to the top. They also noted weight limitations to make sure that the final configuration of parts would be okay to load.

They figured it all out using a couple of early 2015 Ford Mustang convertible prototype shells to see exactly how it would have to come apart and be put back together. It required making a wood mock-up of the elevator to double check that it’d all fit and the creation of a custom tubular steel subframe to hold it all together.

The second part of the challenge won’t happen until the team arrives in New York City to put it all together. They’ll only have a six-hour window when the Observation Deck closes on April 15th at 2am until it opens back up on April 16th at 8am. They’ve been practicing like a pit crew to make sure they’ve got it down cold.

Ford Mustang Empire State 3

You’ll be able to see the 2015 Ford Mustang on display at the top of the Empire State Building from April 16th at 8am until April 18th at 2am when the whole thing gets taken apart and goes back down the elevator.

Here’s a video showing the behind-the-scenes of the whole process…

And here’s video of the 2015 Ford Mustang’s Hollywood debut…

Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.