The Shelby GT-H Celebrates the 50th Aniversary of the World’s Coolest Rental Beater

Shelby GT-H (Credit: © Ford)

This year marks the 50th anniversary since Ford, Shelby, and Hertz teamed up to craft the most amazing rental buggy ever built. I am, of course, talking about the Ford Shelby GT350-H. This year, in celebration of half a decade since its unveiling, the three companies are at it again, building a new special-edition rental car dubbed the Shelby GT-H.

This exclusive rental begins its life as a simple Mustang GT but undergoes a dramatic transformation to become the Shelby GT-H that begins with a new Shelby body kit, upper and lower grilles from Shelby, and the Hertz black-an-gold paint job. The morphing continues with the addition of a Hertz emblem on the front fender, a Shelby GT-H emblem in the front grille, a Shelby logo on the C-pillars, and a GT-H logo on its faux gas cap.

Shelby GT-H (Credit: © Ford)

Inside, the modifications are a little lighter, but they make it clear that this is no standard `Stang. In here, buyers will find a GT-H dash plaque, a GT-H headrest set, a GT-H doorsill plates, and GT-H floor mats.

No Shelby rig would be complete without some performance-enhancing bits, and the GT-H delivers. It gains a Ford Performance Handling Pack, which includes upgraded front and rear dampers, lowering springs that drop the ride height by 1 inch, modified upper strut mounts, new jounce bumpers, revised front and rear sway bars, and new toe links Also boosting performance are its staggered wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber and its Ford Performance cat-back exhaust.

Unfortunately, Ford did not release performance numbers on this limited-edition rental. What is did announce is that only 140 units will be available at selected Hertz locations starting today.