Last Ford Model T Built Heads to Scotland

Celebrates the 100th anniversary of a Ford Model T, the last example ever built will be going to Scotland to take part in the Ben Nevis Challenge Tour from May 16 to 21. The event will see over 60 Model T cars gather by Britain's highest peak. In addition, a display of Ford vehicles and memorabilia will be on display at the Nevis Centre, Fort William.

Other vehicles from the Ford Heritage Collection will include a replica of Henry Ford's first vehicle, the Quadricycle, and a 1910 Model T.

“The Model T was groundbreaking in its day and that so many are still running today is testament to design and strength of the Ford Model T as well as the enthusiasm of the owners. One hundred years ago Ford put the world on wheels by building a global car and now in 2011 the new Ford Focus, which will be available in 120 countries, continues the tradition,” John Nevill, Ford heritage administrator, said in a statement for the press.

In 1911 Henry Alexander, a Ford agent based in Edinburgh, drove to the top of Ben Nevis to prove the ruggedness of the Ford Model T. The ascent took five days with the route leading over boulders, through snow-drifts and over perilous loose sand paths. At the top of Ben Nevis the Model T was met by the world's press before taking less than three hours to descend the mountain, traversing gradients steeper than 1 in 3.

The event proved an excellent trial of Ford's chassis and suspension designs, a task completed today by Ford engineers at Dunton Technical Centre - one of Europe's largest automotive R&D centres - and Lommel Proving Ground, Belgium. "This means that vehicles such as the new Ford Focus are designed to cope with the most demanding road surfaces," Ford says.