2023 Mustang Round Up highlight – 1966 Shelby GT350-H

For Mustang owners based in Victoria, attending the annual ‘Mustang Round Up’ is a must. Presented by the Victorian chapter of the Mustang Owners’ Club of Australia (MOCA VIC), the Mustang Round Up welcomes all eras of the iconic Pony Car. In addition to hosting the MOCA Victorian State Concours, this annual event also presents the Shelby Nationals and Boss Mustang Display Concours for MOCA members, plus a Show ‘n’ Shine for non-MOCA Mustang owners. Held annually in late October, the 2023 edition saw one of the biggest turn-outs in the event’s history, with almost 500 Mustangs on show, including some truly rare, desirable and valuable examples.

Given the enduring popularity of the first-generation Mustang, it’s no surprise that cars from this era made up around half of the total cars on display. And while some of these are particularly rare, especially here in Australia, there are few as rare or as desirable as the Shelby GT350-H.

Born from Shelby’s success racing modified Mustang GT fastbacks in Sports Car Club of America competition in 1965, the GT350-H was a high-performance rental car, offered by Hertz in 1966 and designed to bring the GT350 experience to more people – not just those on the US West Coast or who were engaged with motorsport.

While Carroll Shelby is credited with the GT350-H’s creation, it was the General Manager of Shelby American at the time, Peyton Cramer, who had to sell the idea to executives from the Hertz rental company. Turns out he didn’t have to sell that hard, as Hertz’s ‘Sports Car Club’, a special rental programme for approved drivers, was flagging. Hertz had launched the Sports Car Club back in 1958, offering Corvettes, but the impracticalities of a two-seat sports car when most renters wanted (or needed) a sedan made themselves evident early in the programme. On paper, the GT350 offered the space without compromising the thrills. Hertz themselves pitched the GT350-H to “business travellers who want a change of pace,” “sports car owners away from home” and “vacationers who consider driving an enjoyable holiday sport”.

What had initially been an idea to offer around 100 cars grew in increments to the point that Hertz eventually agreed to take 1,000 units, spread across their rental fleets in more than 60 US cities. While all were based on GT350 fastbacks with the 306hp (228kW) K Code 289 V8, some compromises were made to the rental cars along the way. For example, only the first 85 or so had manual transmissions; the rest were automatics to make them more accessible and usable. Lowered, heavy-duty suspension was replaced with conventional shocks, but the competition-spec brakes were retained, leading to the addition of an aftermarket brake booster for some models, replaced with a Ford unit late in the production run. Other parts, like interior trim, changed depending on availability.

Labelled as the ‘GT350-H’ and identified as such with a modified version of the GT350 decal on the sills, the majority of the 1,000 cars Shelby built for Hertz were in their “corporate colours” of Raven Black with gold striping. Later GT350-Hs were produced in red, white, blue and green. Some shipped without the body-length Le Mans stripes, too.

While the “Rent A Racer” tag that’s been applied to the GT350-H was never actually used by Hertz themselves, they were no doubt aware that some customers were actually racing these cars. Stories abound of GT350-Hs being returned with evidence of roll cages being fitted, burnt-out clutches and even full engine swaps – the K Code being replaced with a stock 289.

After a set period in the Hertz rental fleet, surviving cars went back to Shelby American, who then sold them on to Ford dealers around the country. Being an ‘ex-rental’ car meant the GT350-H wasn’t highly regarded back then and it’s taken some time for values to come level with a comparable GT350. Today, a genuine GT350-H is generally considered more valuable than a GT350 in comparable condition.

The impact of the GT350 Hertz offering from 1966 saw the programme revived in 2006 and 2016. On both occasions, the available cars were Shelby Mustangs in black with gold stripes, although some white with gold cars were offered, too.

The GT350-H shown here that was on display at the 2023 Mustang Round Up is described as a genuine example that was sent from Shelby American to a Ford dealer in Virginia for pre-delivery prep before going to a Hertz outlet in Washington DC in April, 1966. It spent less than a year as a rental car before going back to Shelby and being sold on to a Ford dealer in Florida.

After several US owners, this car came to Australia in 2011. As presented at the Mustang Round Up, this GT350-H was authentic to its 1966 spec in almost every detail. A Carroll Shelby signature was on the glovebox lid, with an info board detailing its history.

The immaculate presentation of this car was rewarded with a Gold Award as part of the Shelby Nationals Concours judging at the 2023 Mustang Round Up.

For JUST CARS report on the 2023 Mustang Round Up, click HERE.