Ford Showed off Its Explorer SUV on the Tallest Climbing Tower in Norway

Ford came up with the Explore New Heights challenge, for climbers hunting for new adventures, and it used the tallest free-standing climbing tower in the world for it. The OVER climbing tower is located in Norway and it is more than 154 ft (47 meters) tall.

Norway’s climbers who wanted to be part of the challenge that took place on July 31 had to set the fastest time for climbing the tower, in order to win a free, two-year lease on the car. Ford’s SUV is a plugin-in hybrid, seven-seat vehicle and in order to stay true to its name, the company actually elevated the Explorer on a specially-created platform and placed it at the top of the tower.

Ford’s SUV offers true off-road capabilities and combines an EcoBoost petrol engine with a 13.6kWh battery and electric motor. It can go from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 kph) in six seconds.

The Explore New Heights challenge was an ambitious project that took half a year of planning, involving engineers and architects who had to make sure the tower can support the additional weight.

But it wasn’t just your regular climb to the top, as Ford wanted to push the limits of the participants, by creating a challenging route filled with obstacles and jumps that proved difficult even for the more experienced climbers. Not to mention timing, as the goal was to set the fastest one.

The winner was a 21-year-old from Bergen, who managed to climb the tower in three minutes and 33 seconds.

OVER is a tower with a solid wood structure and has 144 feet (44 meters) of aluminum climbing surface on all its sides. It is located in Lillesand and it is so tall that from its peak you can see all the way to Denmark.