In 1966, Shelby American joined forces with Hertz for its Rent-a-Racer program. Legend has it that the entire thing started as a way for Carroll Shelby to sell 1,001 modified Ford Mustangs, effectively conning the rental agency into paying for the privileges of advertising his products. But the resulting Shelby GT350H has become a bit of a legend, with the surviving examples consistently going for six figures at auction.

In actuality, Hertz was already offering high-performance vehicles years before Shelby got involved and the pair had previously worked together to offer the Cobra in 1962. Their marriage solidified the company’s efforts to occasionally provide customers with the opportunity to drive something truly glorious to drive. While the Mustang (along with the Corvette) remained a staple for North America, Shelby models wouldn’t return until 2006 delivered a second incarnation of the GT350H, to be followed by the 2016 GT-H. Hertz and Shelby American have confirmed a new partnership — one that has resulted in the 900+ horsepower Mustang Shelby GT500-H. 

“Hertz and Shelby American have created driving magic again,” said Stephen Scherr, CEO of Hertz. “This partnership has made automotive history many times over the years, and we look forward to future collaborations that will continue to both push limits and delight our customers with exciting cars and experiences.”

The car in question is based on the Shelby GT500 you can buy directly from Ford Motor Co. But, rather than keeping the supercharged 5.2-liter V8 at the stock 760 horsepower, Hertz elected to have the model juiced up to over 900 hp. This required Shelby to make some modifications, with the biggest being a 3.8-liter Whipple supercharger (painted gold for Hertz) and a Borla cat-back exhaust system that’s bound to upset the neighbors. Fortunately, they won’t be yours, since this is a rental car.

Additional modifications include a carbon fiber “deep-draw” hood Shelby said saved about 30 pounds and a unique set of 20-inch aluminum wheels wrapped in Michelin performance rubber. We assume that means whatever sport tire Hertz can source after the previous renter transforms their set into slicks.

You’ll probably never have an opportunity to drive one, however. Despite the three-year commitment, production of the Shelby will be extremely limited and they’ll only be delivered to select locations with the ability to service them. That amounts to just over two-dozen cars spread across eleven North American cities boasting warmer climates.

Each of the 2022 Shelby Mustang Hertz models will be instantly recognizable with unique styling enhancements that celebrate a rich performance heritage. Nineteen of the Shelby GT500-H fastbacks will wear shadow black exterior paint and six, to honor Shelby American’s 60th anniversary, will be clad in oxford white. The Shelby GT-H fastbacks and convertibles will be available in rapid red metallic, oxford white, carbonized gray and shadow black exterior paint. All will be set off with gold “Le Mans” dual racing stripes and set of special rocker stripes, along with Hertz Edition and Shelby 60th anniversary emblems. Inside, Shelby and Hertz logos are on the seats, sill plates and floor mats; a numbered badge will be on the dash and under the hood. The supercharger on the Shelby GT500-H is gold hued for Hertz’s livery.

Customers need to be prepared to spend $399 per day on the GT500-H, assuming they’re fortunate enough to reserve one in the first place. However, the 451-hp Shelby GT-H will still be around to offer broader availability at a substantially lower rate. Though, if you’re serious about renting either, you’ll probably want to join the mailing list for high-performance Hertz vehicles and contact the agency before they start arriving this summer.

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/s Nothing could go wrong with this …

You beat me to it.

This is the best car to rent from Hertz! It’ll give you the best chance of outrunning the cops when Hertz reports the car as stolen for no apparent reason.

This was an extremely funny comment.

I heard that Hertz is bankrupt but I did not know why. So it is back in the business?

Engine hoist sales might slightly increase.

So, how long will it take before the first one ends up on this site:

http://www.wreckedexotics.com/ford/mustang/shelby-gt500

Granted, you aren’t going to get one of these as a free upgrade from your Ecoboost Mustang (that probably went for over $200/day in south Florida or Las Vegas, but you’re probably going to get more than a few drivers who have a few bucks to spend on their trip and have a RAV4 in the airport parking lot back home flooring this and making sweet love to a tree or parked car in 2.2 seconds.

All that being said, time to see how many Hertz points I have saved up…

I have enough status that I’ve been upgraded to a Polestar EV at the National counter and Scat Pack Challengers a few times but yeah, this seems like a.bridge too far.

I’m going to miss renting cars when my new position takes me off the road.

@Art- teach me your ways! I’m your padiwan.

lol…I have no ways other than being a road warrior for the past 5 years and having triple digit rental days from them over the course of a year. You spend a ton of your company’s money there, they hook you up. You do have to pick one company and stay with them though.

@Art – you’ve gotten a Polestar??? Nice! I think I need to look at National the next time I need a rental car…

The Polestar was a funny one. I flew into Atlanta and upon getting to the Emerald aisle there was 1 car and 8 people standing waiting. I waited a sec and then walked over to the 1 car figuring they must be waiting on a van or something.

That car was a convertible Camaro with 80k miles on it that smelled like a skunk had smoked all of Cheech and Chong’s Marajuana inside, died and been left to rot for a week. I got out and an employee looked at me and said “yeah…I don’t know either”.

I went back and asked how long it would be and they said an hour but they could put me in the Polestar on the premium aisle but the battery was only at 25 percent (aparently they can only charge on 120 there).

I checked that there was a fast charge place within range and took it. It was fun.

I do hate the Google driven infotainment in rentals though this one had. Not normal Android Auto that mirrors your phone…it was its own thing requiring you to sign into all of your services on the car. Not something I really want to do on a rental.

https://youtu.be/WQurmhwP3ag

My guess is that tread depth will be recorded before & after rental.

youtube.com/watch?v=OIPBDxuNmfM

Was the 2016 car another gold-striped special?

What did Ford and Shelby bring out after the original in 2006? It was identical to the GT-H, but had gray stripes and not gold.

All I can say is that I hope they have dash cams!

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