1966 Shelby Mustang GT-350H

Released in April 1964, Ford Mustang sales figures were nothing short of incredible, with nearly one million units sold in the first eighteen months of production. Thanks to his successes with the Ford-powered 1963-1964 Shelby Cobra, Texan farmer and seasoned racing driver Carroll Shelby was the obvious man to be entrusted with turning a stock Mustang into a successful challenger that could be entered into the Sports Car Championship of America (SCCA) and take on the might of the General Motors Chevrolet Corvette, and so soon after, development of the car was underway at Shelby's Marina del Rey facility in Los Angeles, California.

Unveiled in January 1965 at a basic price of $4,547, and based on a Mustang Fastback, the Shelby GT-350 was effectively a stiff, loud and fast road-legal race car. Under the hood lurked a 289cu.in. V8 producing 306 BHPand the suspension and brakes were extensively modified. The 1966 GT-350 gained Plexiglas rear windows instead of vents, side scoops for improved rear brake cooling and a thin bar grille. These changes translated into numerous successes on the race track and the legendary Shelby GT-350 was born.

Never has the "marriage' between a car rental company and a manufacturer yielded such fruitful results as it did between Hertz and Shelby with the inception of the Shelby Mustang GT-350H. In a clever marketing move in 1966, Hertz initially ordered 100 models and requested that it be named the GT-350H, "H' standing for Hertz, with a few minor tweaks for their rentals customers. Delivered in Raven Black with Bronze Powder Gold stripes, the order was increased to 200 cars, and by the end of that year 1000 cars were produced in total. It is believed that 800 or so cars were delivered in the black / gold colour scheme, whilst the remaining 200 were built in Wimbledon White, Sapphire Blue, Ivy Green and Candyapple Red. By the end of '66 the Shelby GT-350H was available at over 50 Hertz airport rental locations across the United States, where customers could hire one for the nominal sum of $17 per day. Many of these cars were rented for weekend use on drag strips and race tracks, and hence the term "Rent-a-Racer' was coined.

We are pleased to offer this particular GT-350H bearing chassis number #1555 and presented in the Hertz colours of Raven Black & Bronze Powder Gold. According to the SAAC Shelby Registry, on which this car features, it was delivered to Hertz via Larsen Ford Inc. on 31st March 1966, and originally featured an automatic gearbox, however it has since been upgraded to a 4-speed manual Toploader unit. Chassis #1555 rides on 14" 10-spoke alloys, a change from the usual Magnum 500 wheels common on most Hertz cars.

After Hertz use, the car was sold to a Lacy Levone of Wilson, North Carolina, followed by another 2 owners in the States. In 1992 the car was purchased by a Dutch collector and remained with him before ownership passed to another collector in Holland, who used the car for classic regulation rallies such as the Rallye de Paris and the Vogezen Classic.

Thought to have never been restored, although probably painted in its lifetime, this original GT-350H boasts a wonderful patina rarely seen on these cars. With only a small handful residing in the UK, chassis #1555 represents an opportunity to own a slice of American motoring folklore. Verified and authenticated by the Shelby register, this car is not to be missed!