In 1965 after Shelby had met Ford’s allotment of Shelby GT350’s, Carroll Shelby was looking to find another buyer for his cars.
With some help from Ford corporate In September 1965 Carroll Shelby signs a deal with Hertz, the rental car company, for them to purchase 1,003 Shelby GT350’s that includes two prototypes. They were to be called Shelby GT350H’s.
Hertz wanted to promote “Hertz Sports Club”. Members of this club IF they were over the age of 25 could rent a 306 horsepower Shelby GT350H Mustang for $17 per day and 17 cents per mile. That was far from the last time Shelby of his company would work with Hertz and in this video we take a look at all of the Hertz Shelby Rent A Racer Mustangs.
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A transcript, created by AI and edited by a staffer, is below.
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Transcript:
In 1965, after Carroll Shelby had met his allotment of GT350s for Ford Motor Company, he began looking for another customer. With help from people at Ford, Shelby made a deal with Hertz, the rental car company. Hertz initially ordered 100 special edition Shelby GT350s. That order quickly grew to 200, and eventually 1,003, including two prototypes.
These cars became known as the Shelby GT350H. Hertz used them to promote its Sports Car Club. At the time, if you were over the age of 25, you could rent a 306-horsepower Shelby GT350H for $17 a day and 17 cents a mile.
The 1966 GT350H was mechanically almost identical to the standard ’66 GT350. It was a fastback Mustang powered by a Windsor 289 cubic-inch Hi-Po K-code V8, fitted with a four-barrel 725 CFM carburetor on a high-rise intake. Output was 306 horsepower at 6,000 RPM and 329 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 RPM. It had a 9-inch live rear axle, a modified Shelby suspension, special rear quarter windows, hood, functional rear brake ducts, and a dash-mounted tachometer.
Most GT350Hs came with a factory automatic transmission, though 86 manual versions were built. All cars had Magnum 500 wheels with gold-painted centers. A few were painted Wimbledon White with blue striping, but most were Raven Black with gold Le Mans stripes. Other colors included Candy Apple Red, Ivy Green, and Sapphire Blue, all with gold stripes.
The program was initially successful, but high repair costs ended it by the close of 1966. Some customers reportedly used the cars for weekend amateur racing or drag strip runs, while others allegedly swapped engines before returning them.
The next Shelby–Hertz collaboration came 40 years later, in August 2006, with the Shelby GT-H. Based on the 2006 Mustang GT, it was modified by Shelby to Hertz’s specifications. All 500 cars were black with gold Le Mans and rocker panel stripes, and featured a Hertz plaque, nonfunctional rear brake scoops, billet aluminum grille, vented composite hood with pins, and a rear spoiler.
The GT-H used a 4.6-liter DOHC V8 producing 319 horsepower thanks to Ford Racing’s Power Pack, which added a dual 90 mm throttle body, cold-air intake, revised exhaust with an X-pipe, and GTA axle-back mufflers. All cars had a 5-speed automatic and 3.55:1 final drive. Suspension upgrades included tuned dampers, lowering springs, sway bars, and a strut tower brace.
In 2007, 500 more GT-Hs were built as convertibles, fitted with a lighted roll bar.
The partnership returned in 2016 with 171 units of the Shelby GT-H. Based on the 435-horsepower 5.0-liter Mustang GT, it featured a Ford Performance cat-back exhaust, handling package, lowering springs, new dampers, anti-roll bars, 19-inch staggered wheels, and carbon fiber front and rear spoilers. Most changes were cosmetic—Shelby hood, grille, GTH badges, door sills, embroidered seats, floor mats, and engine dress-up parts.
In 2019, Shelby offered a GT-H Heritage Package in black or white with gold stripes, but these were sold through dealers and not rented by Hertz.
In 2022, Hertz and Shelby partnered again under a three-year agreement ending in 2024. This included the most powerful rental car ever offered to the public—the 950-horsepower Shelby GT500-H. Starting with a GT500KR, Shelby added gold stripes, forged wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, Mach 1 spoiler and gurney flap, and a co-developed carbon fiber hood that saved 30 pounds. Performance upgrades included a Whipple 3.8-liter supercharger, larger throttle body, revised intercooler system, upgraded injectors, Borla exhaust, and custom tune. This combination delivered 950 horsepower and 635 lb-ft, paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. Only 25 were built for 2022.
The naturally aspirated 2022 GT-H was closer to the 2016 model but with some receiving optional supercharger kits rated at 850 horsepower. Standard models had 450 horsepower from the 5.0-liter V8 and a 10-speed automatic. Upgrades included Borla cat-back exhaust, 20-inch staggered wheels with Michelin all-seasons, unique Shelby hood and body accents, badges, and embroidered interior trim. Available in multiple colors, 500 were built for 2022.
Production numbers for later years are unclear, though a 2023 Hertz Shelby Mach-E GT SUV appeared, which was not included in this history.
Today, some 2022 Shelby GT-H and GT500-H models are listed for sale on Hertz’s site, priced around $40,000 and $145,000 respectively.
