Shelby American
GT350 H 'Rent-a-Racer' (Hertz, 1966)

Why it matters

The GT350 H was the Hertz 'Rent-A-Racer', a run of Shelby GT350 Mustangs supplied to the rental company for its Sports Car Club in 1966. Nearly half of Shelby's 1966 production went to Hertz, and the programme put a high-performance car into rental fleets as a marketing exercise for Shelby and Hertz.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

In the fall of 1965 Shelby American general manager Peyton Cramer suggested putting the cars into the hands of rental customers, and Hertz agreed. The first order was for 150 cars, and 85 of them were delivered with four-speed manual gearboxes; Hertz then asked for automatics because not every customer could drive a manual. Rentals ran at 17 dollars a day plus 17 cents a mile in more than 60 cities.

The programme ended after a year. SCM says some customers swapped the engines out with those from their own Mustangs, while Velocity cites high repair costs and low margins. Shelby bought back high-mileage cars, refurbished them and sold them through its dealers at a discount.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

About 75 per cent of cars were Raven Black with gold stripes; other colours were Wimbledon White (about 50 cars), Candy Apple Red, Ivy Green and Sapphire Blue. Hertz wheel caps and a dash warning label distinguish the cars from standard GT350s. They carry chrome Magnum 500 wheels, a dash-mounted tachometer and Plexiglas rear quarter windows, and about 100 cars have a steel hood. Original engines are valuable because many cars returned from rental with non-Shelby engines.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   RM Sotheby's – 1966 Shelby GT350 H (Arizona 2024) Level B

   • 1000 GT350H supplied by Shelby to Hertz in 1966 (sources range 999–1,001)

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   1966 Shelby GT350 H Level B Sports Car Market

   • A total of 1,001 GT350 H fastback coupes were produced

   Accessed 2026-11-12
3. 3
   History Of The 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350-H: The Hertz Rent-A-Racer Level B Velocity Restorations

   • K-code Cobra 289 CID V8, rated at 306 horsepower
   • more powerful K-code Cobra 289 CID V8

   Accessed 2026-11-12
4. 4
   1966 Shelby Mustang Hertz GT350 Level B conceptcarz.com

   • fitted with a 4-barrel Holley carburetor
   • Just 85 of these examples were given a four speed transmission
   • There are disc brakes in the front and hydraulic drums in the rear

   Accessed 2026-11-12