To mark 10 years since the passing of Carroll Shelby this past Tuesday, May 10, Shelby American and Hertz announced the revival of a longstanding partnership allowing the public access to high-performance Mustangs through the famous "Rent-A-Racer" program. Only four days later, an event at Carroll Shelby Enterprises in Gardena, California, served as the public debut of three new Shelby models slated to join Hertz's fleet, ushered in by a maxed-out GT500-H sporting a borderline unbelievable 900 horsepower from a supercharged 5.2-liter V8.
Hertz plans to rent the GT500-H for a surprisingly low rate of $399 per day, while slightly lower-spec coupe and convertible GT-H variants of the Ford Mustang with a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 will run only $99 per day. At the morning car meet celebrating the "Chicken Farmer from Texas" himself, as well as the return of such a high-profile rental program, I spoke with Shelby American President Gary Patterson and Hertz Vice President Fleet Procurement & Services Mark Cangialosi about making such incredible power and performance available to the average enthusiast.
History In The Making
Before the grand reveal, a handful of Shelby Mustangs in the classic black-and-gold paint of previous Rent-A-Racer programs provided a glimpse at the day's festivities. The original partnership dates back over five decades, when Shelby first provided Hertz with 1,000 GT350 cars as a promotional effort between the two companies. More recently, in 2006 and 2007, Shelby produced a coupe and hardtop version of the fifth-gen Mustang for Hertz, before a run of sixth-gens in 2016. The latest batch will include black Mustangs with gold stripes while also harkening back to lesser-known colors with a gold-on-white scheme (the original 1960s cars came in blue, too).
Colors In Honor Of Carroll
"I love that we used a matte gold stripe on these things," Cangialosi told me. "I think it makes a modern twist to what we've done historically, and we've kept the legacy alive."
For his part, Patterson appreciates the historical passion that the Hertz color schemes and Shelby performance parts bring out in the enthusiast community.
"When else have you ever seen a rental car on the cover of enthusiast magazines?" Patterson asked, rhetorically, as I shook my head. "Exactly. It is crazy but that's what happened in 2006."
The new cars feature a few unique cosmetic details, including the revised hood seen above, as well as plenty of Hertz and Shelby badging on the grille, sides, wheels, seats, and even the GT500-H's enormous brake calipers. The choice between coupe and convertible for the GT-H makes the program perfect for warm weather vacation destinations—a plus also for drivers who need the traction of dry roads while stepping up to the tail-happy GT500-H, of which 19 will arrive in black while six wear classic Oxford White.
The King Of The Rental Fleet
A stock Shelby Mustang GT500 from Ford provides enough power to legitimately challenge Dodge's insane Challenger Demon in terms of straight-line speed, with 760 horsepower on tap from a supercharged 5.2-liter V8. But for the Hertz cars, Shelby decided to ratchet the intensity up to a new notch courtesy of a 3.8-liter Whipple supercharger pushing enough boost to bump output over 900 horses.
"With the recent management change in Hertz," Patterson told me, "They've all been about high performance and really changing their image for fun and excitement. And what better way to do that within pinnacle Shelby that has mega power."
The specs sound eerily similar to Shelby's recently revealed King of the Road variant, though Patterson cautioned me that GT500-H receives slightly less in the way of track-specific goodies and carbon fiber. Still, the mindset at Hertz definitely seems primed for a shift in image given how few cars on the road can come anywhere close to four-figure horsepower stats.
"We had an idea that we wanted to make something unique," Cangialosi, "Something we haven't done before. We talked about putting on a supercharger and the next thing we know, we're putting on a gold supercharger!"
Hertz promises that a daily rental for the higher-spec GT500-H will average only $399—an obviously promotional price, given the car in question—while the GT-H will run only $99. Both numbers seem almost too good to be true, though mileage limits and add-ons will likely apply.
Big Brakes A Must
As a fun interlude to the event, Hertz gave me a chance to take a quick ridealong in the GT500-H and experience the brutal acceleration, upgraded suspension, and burbling exhaust note. I also asked Cangialosi if he got a chance to drive the GT500-H beforehand.
"I have, yes," he replied, grinning. "And I love it."
I pointed to the massive brakes, which thoroughly impressed me at Ford's Mach 1 Track Tour this past February and seem crucial given how fast one of these cars can reach triple-digit speed with ease. Otherwise, Hertz needs to prepare for shredded tires after donuts, hard launches, and top-speed pulls start popping up on social media. But Cangialosi revealed plans to educate would-be renters before they plop into the driver's seat.
"We care about the safety of our customers. We're gonna provide resources before they get there so that they are knowledgeable of how to drive these and can feel comfortable during the rental experience," Cangialosi said. "Ford makes a lot of great safety features in these cars. They all have state-of-the-art technology as far as traction control and things like that."
A New Collectible Classic
As we near the end of the internal-combustion era, the decision to launch another Rent-A-Racer program with such a maxed-out performance variant resembles nothing short of another sendoff for the Mustang as we know it—especially given that Shelby's own Mach-E concept sat just outside promising further performance upgrades to the newly electrified crossover bearing the American classic's moniker. I asked Patterson if a Shelby Mach-E might end up in Hertz's fleet anytime soon, too. He responded with slightly less than a wink and a nod.
"You know, one could speculate that one might, in the future," he laughed.
Given the limited production numbers, future collectibility for these rolling swansongs definitely entered the conversation. Patterson pointed out that the 1966 car on hand might fetch upwards of $200,000 these days—and Shelby originally built 1,000 of those—and the latest cars will likely go down in history as the last to use fossil fuels.
"They're gonna be super, super collectible," Patterson said, "Especially the GT500. There's only 25 of those but there are 400 of the other ones, so that's pretty cool, too."
Those numbers might dip over the years, after the famous scams and unfortunate damage common to the original GT350-H cars. For now, Hertz needs to recognize and plan for the capability of average drivers to handle over 900 horsepower. Low surviving numbers dropping even lower only adds to future rarity, though. Until then, Mustang and Shelby fans anxious to get their hands on Hertz's latest Rent-A Racers can look forward to the earliest available cars reaching fleets by the warmer months of this coming summer.
Sources: shelby.com, hertz.com, whipplesuperchargers.com, and ford.com.