by A. Wayne Ferens
Images Courtesy of Shelby American and Hertz
Published 7.24.2024
Both the 1965 R-model (left) and GT350 street car were produced by Shelby American in Los Angeles from regular Mustang K-code 289 cu.in. 271 hp, 4-speed cars produced at Ford's San Jose, California plant. Both had the rear seat deleted and modified suspensions. (Shelby American)
If you were born no later than 1941 and were a Hertz Sports Car Club member in 1966, you could rent a race-ready high-performance Shelby Mustang GT from Hertz Rent-A-Car for only $17 dollars per day and 17 cents a mile. The Hertz Corporation, originally known as Rent-a-Car Inc., was founded by Chicago, Illinois native Walter L. Jacobs at 22 years of age in 1918. Jacobs originally purchased a dozen Ford Model Ts for his fleet, and the company was growing quickly when John D. Hertz, who in 1915 founded the Yellow Cab Company, became interested in the rental business and purchased Jacobs company in 1923.
Ford introduced the Mustang on April 17, 1964 at the New York World's Fair and, within four months, sold over 100,000 with car buyers demanding more. Ford's marketing execs decided to team up with Carroll Shelby to modify a limited number of Mustangs for Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) competition that seemed a perfect fit for the Mustang’s size and power options. The idea was to get Shelby to build and race a few Mustangs and provide some modified street cars that could be sold through local Ford dealers. The end result was Shelby produced a total of 562 Mustang GTs in 1965, of which 37 were lightweight race cars designated the "R-model," and 525 street versions called the Shelby GT350. There is no doubt the GT350s were very successful SCCA racers and were one of the best-looking performance cars ever built. They also added greatly to the Mustang and Ford’s motorsports image in the 1960s.
So how did Hertz get the GT350?
Shelby continued producing the GT350 for 1966 with some modifications to make the car more comfortable and enjoyable to drive with four-passenger seating. In September of 1965, Shelby American General Manager Peyton Cramer contacted Hertz Corp., a big buyer of Ford products, with a deal to offer them special GT350H versions as a rental car. As stated by Ford Motor Company: "The idea was to put high-performance, special edition Shelby Mustang coupes into the hands of racing enthusiast-minded rental customers." Hertz agreed to the deal, and Shelby immediately produced two prototypes with a few unique touches specifically recommended by Hertz, including special Magnum 500 wheels with center caps featuring the Hertz Sports Car Club logo on Goodyear Blue Streak tires. After approving the design, Hertz ordered 1,000 of the GT350H models in late November to be distributed to select Hertz locations around the country. Some of the first cars were shipped to Hertz at the San Francisco airport, where 28 cars arrived in February 1966.
The 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350H as delivered to the Hertz Corporation. (Hertz photo)
The 1966 Shelby GT350H featured a Shelby-modified Cobra 289 engine rated at 306 horsepower with 329 lb-ft of torque, and could do 0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds. After some complaints about braking, a power brake booster was added to some of the vehicles per Hertz’ request. The first 100 cars shipped from Shelby were 4-speed cars equipped with a 715-cfm 4-bbl Holley carburetor, painted Raven black with gold Bronze Powder side and Le Mans racing stripes. In January 1966, Hertz and Ford decided that the rest of the build should be equipped with the C-4 Cruise-O-Matic 3-speed automatic transmission and made available in an assortment of colors. The automatic cars had the Autolite 595-cfm four-barrel carburetor. The five colors Hertz selected for 20 percent of the GT350s were as follows:
- 50 in Wimbledon White with side stripes (with the side and Gold Le Mans stripes available with all colors).
- 50 in Sapphire Blue models (a Thunderbird color) with side stripes.
- 50 in Candy Apple Red with side stripes.
- 50 in Ivy Green with side stripes.
- 800 were in the iconic Raven Black with side stripes, and most with the Le Mans stripes in Gold.
All but roughly 100 cars had the Shelby-scooped fiberglass hood with the others featuring an all steel hood. Other special features were fiberglass side scoops used to cool the rear brakes, a 9000 rpm tachometer mounted on the dash, Cobra gas cap, Plexiglas rear quarter windows, front disc brakes and suspension modifications. Some cars were fitted with Cragar wheels instead of the Magnums.
The Hertz Sports Car Club customized wheel
The GT350H interior
A lot of stories were passed on to Shelby from the Hertz outlets about damaged cars, customers burning out the clutches (in the 4-speed manuals), swapping parts and entire engines, adding roll bars, and racing at the local drag strip or SCCA events. Customers who thought they were getting away with something ended up reimbursing Hertz for the damage. Unknown to those that rented the GT350H, Hertz kept a detailed check sheet on the condition of the vehicle when the car was rented and returned. According to Hertz, the program was a big, yet expensive success for the company. When the program ended, Ford and Shelby repurchased the vehicles at a large discount and resold them. Many survive today and are among the most sought-after collector cars in the world.
A Hertz magazine ad featuring the Shelby GT350H
Hertz renters guide for the GT350 (Ferens Collection)
40 years later, in 2006, Ford and Hertz got together again and produced 500 Shelby Mustang GT-H models for the Hertz Fun Collection. The Collection was launched in January 2006, providing unique cars to rental customers seeking an exciting driving experience. The Shelby GT-H is a performance model with the Black-and-Gold combo that is often referred to as "Hertz colors" by most Mustang aficionados.
1966 Hertz GT350 and the 2006 Hertz GT-H. (Ferens Collection)
Ten years later in 2016, Ford Motor Company, Shelby and Hertz celebrated the 50th anniversary of the partnership by producing a very limited number (140) of Mustang GT-Hs that were available for rental customers through the Hertz “Adrenaline Collection” at only 17 key airport locations across the U.S.
Bibliography
Chicago Tribune, August 1985.
Hertz Car Rental Co. History - Bargain Wheels 2017.
Hertz Corporate website.
Motor Trend Magazine, 1966.