1966 Shelby Mustang Hertz GT350 Fastback

Peyton Cramer, Shelby American's General Manager, approached the Hertz Corporation with his concept for a specialty model of the upcoming GT350 to be produced by Shelby American for rental use. What followed was the 'Hertz Sports Car Club' which began in 1958; its purpose was to provide a limited number of high performance vehicles for rent to qualified and preapproved customers. In the early 1960s, Hertz switched from Chevrolet to Ford supplied cars, and the Shelby-Hertz 'Rent-A-Racer' was born.

Shelby American received an initial order for 200 Hertz GT350s on November 23, 1965. Hertz requested that the cars have chrome Magnum 500 wheels, radios, rear seats, and the iconic Hertz livery of Raven Black with gold rally and rocker panel stripes.

Ford proposed a joint advertising program between Shelby American and Hertz which would later include airport displays, cameo appearances in both movies and television, and full-color magazine ads.

The Shelby GT350H was available for rent to members of the Hertz Sports Car Club at the price of $17 per day and 17 cents per mile. The cars were restricted to drivers over 25 years of age and required a signed agreement warning that the cars were only to be driven by the renter.

Shelby American at the LAX facility built a total of 999 units plus two prototypes for the Hertz Corporation, nearly doubling Shelby American's production from the previous year. The original invoice price to Hertz ranged from $3,750 to $3,850, but Shelby American guaranteed an average value of $2,584 per car at the end of the program. Shelby American would then perform normal reconditioning and Ford assisted in disposing of the cars which began in late September of 1966 as the cars came out of service.

The first 200 Shelbys delivered to Hertz were built as black fastbacks with gold rally stripes and gold rocker panel stripes. The remaining 800 units would be a mix of standard Shelby colors, including white, blue, red, and green. However, Hertz reconsidered its choice of colors by January 26, 1966, in part due to production delays at Shelby American, and only a limited number of units were delivered that were not the standard black and gold livery.

This particular Shelby is one of just 50 Hertz cars finished in Ivy Green with the Gold Le Mans stripes. It is one of 15 units shipped to J.D. Ball Ford in Miami, Florida for dealer preparation and inspection prior to delivery to Hertz for use at the Miami International Airport. After being released from service by Hertz, the Shelby passed through a few owners in Florida before making its way to a collection in Ohio. The current owner acquired the Shelby after 27 years of single ownership.

This Shelby is in original and excellent condition. It retains its correct, numbers-matching HiPo 289 V8. Only 85 Hertz cars were equipped with a four-speed manual from the factory before Hertz abruptly requested that the remaining cars, this example being one of them, be equipped with the C4 automatic transmission due to concerns about repair expenses.

This Shelby has been given one professional repaint several years ago. It has received cosmetic reconditioning and detailing over the years as needed preserving much of its originality and patina. The interior is largely original and remains in excellent condition. Currently, it has just over 80,000 miles showing on the odometer.

By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2017