Hertz bought about 1,000 Shelby GT350s for its 1966 rental fleet.
Ford used its relationship with Hertz to place 1,003 Shelby GT350 fastbacks, including two prototypes, into the rental company’s fleet in 1966. The cars became known as GT350H models, with the “H” identifying Hertz. They were promoted as “Rent-a-Racer,” giving ordinary customers access to a car derived from Carroll Shelby’s high-performance Mustang program.
Most GT350H cars were finished in black with gold stripes and came with automatic transmissions, although the first 85 were equipped with four-speed manuals. That mix reflected the unusual dual purpose of the program: the cars had to be exciting enough to advertise Shelby performance but practical enough for rental use.
After their rental careers, many cars were returned to Ford, refurbished, and sold to the public. Stories that some were returned with missing high-performance parts helped build the model’s legend, though individual cars varied in condition and equipment. The arrangement also explains why the GT350H is commonly associated with both rental-car history and American muscle-car collecting.
The program should not be confused with later Hertz Shelby models. Ford and Shelby revived the black-and-gold rental concept in 2006 with the modern Shelby GT-H, four decades after the original fleet.