1969 Shelby Mustang GT350 Hertz news, pictures, and information

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Chassis Num: 9F02M481894

This 1969 Shelby GT350 Hertz was offered for sale at the 2006 Worldwide Group Auction held on Hilton Head Island where it was expected to sell between $100,000-$125,000. It is one of 150 350GT Hertz cars that were built in 1969. It is finished in Black Jade paint scheme and equipped with a Cleveland 351 V8 that is rated at over 300 horsepower. The engine is mated to a FMX Cruise-O-Matic gearbox. The GT350 Hertz has power steering, power front disc brakes, Traction Lok, Selectair Air Conditioning, tinted glass, deluxe seat belts, tilt-away wheel, AM radio, combination tachometer and trip meter, and a sport-deck rear seat. At the conclusion of the auction, this vehicle was sold for $101,200.

The first year of sales for the GT350 models were good but they weren't great. In an effort to stimulate even more sales for 1966, Carroll Shelby asked Peyton Cramer, his marketing man and general manager, to try some fleet sales. To everybody's amazement, the Hertz Rental Car Company purchased 1000 cars. The Hertz Company had founded 'The Hertz Sports Car Club' which provided a limited number of high performance rental cars to customers. The cars could be rented by virtually anyone, as long as they were over the age of 25 and were capable of operating and controlling these machines. Most of the cars were adorned in black paint with gold stripes. The first batch of cars were equipped with manual transmission but the company quickly changed that policy to automatics after many cars were returned in less-than-perfect condition. It was not uncommon to see these cars raced on the tracks during the weekend and returned a few days latter with a little less rubber on the tires and the owners grinning from cheek-to-cheek.

For 1969 the Mustang was given a makeover. The hood was constructed of fiberglass and was fitted with five NACA style hood scoops and locking hood pins. Under the hood was a Cleveland 351 cubic-inch V8 that was rated at 300 horsepower. In the front was a black recessed grille with two fitted headlights. The wheels were five-spoke aluminum and fitted to Goodyear Polyglas GT radial tires.

In 1969 for only $12 a day, an individual could rent one of these cars from the Hertz rental store as part of their 'Rent-A-Racer' program. Or they could get the car for $60 a week plus 11 cents a mile.

In 1969 a total of 150 examples were produced.

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