Ford’s ‘Rent-A-Racer’ is Back! Presenting the 2016 Ford Mustang GT-H [News]

2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT-H
Fifty years ago, Ford decided to do something rather unprecedented in the automotive world. They released a rental version of the Shelby GT350 available only at select Hertz rental locations in a special black and gold paintjob. With the GT350-H, Ford gave the public an easy access route to one of the most desirable muscle cars of its era. This car would come to be known as the ‘Rent-A-Racer’ and was made available at a special rate to the public. Car & Driver tested the GT350-H back in 1966 when you could rent the “real guts sports car, with hair on its chest” for just $17 a day or $70 per week.

Ford 'Rent-A-Racer' Lineup - Mustang

Now there is a new ‘Rent-A-Racer’ available with the 2016 Ford Mustang GT-H. Since the original Hertz edition Shelby (and before the current one), there have been a couple more race Fords for rent including the 2006 GT-H and the 2013 Hertz Penske Mustang GT. However, since the 60’s, Ford and Hertz have learned a few things about renting high-performance street racers to their customers. So, unlike the original, the later models have not actually been Shelby’s and this one finally gives up on trying to make you believe that it is much more than a standard Ford GT with gold stripes and a couple bolt-on upgrades. Furthermore, Hertz has included a fair amount of writing in the rental agreement which is meant to prevent you from actually racing the GT-H. That being said, you still get to rent a Ford GT with gold stripes.

Ford Mustang GT-H Rear

So what do you get with the modern ‘Rent-A-Racer’? Well Hertz has kindly fitted the GT-H with a number of performance upgrades to make the GT-H feel a bit different from the stock GT. First, they have fitted a Ford Performance cat-back exhaust, a Ford Racing handling package — onsisting of lowering springs, upgraded dampers, anti-roll bars, and 19-inch staggered-width wheels — and a carbon fiber aero-kit.

Power output isn’t specified, but expect a slight increase over the standard Mustang GT’s 435 horsepowerand 400 lb-ft of torque. To keep with tradition, Hertz have had the cars painted in the same paint job as the original car from 1966: black paint with gold stripes.

Ford Mustang GT-H Engine

Unlike the GT350-H, of which Hertz had 1,000 examples, there will only be 140 examples of the 2016 GT-H. They will be available for rent starting this memorial day at select Hertz locations as a part of Hertz’s Adrenaline Collection. If, perhaps, you fall in love with this rare beast after renting it for a weekend, Hertz will likely sell the cars after they are done renting them, much like they did for the previous ‘Rent-A-Racers’. However, the price will likely be much higher than a normal Ford GT.

To get a sense of how the modern ‘Rent-A-Racer’ drives, check out our first drive review of the 2015 Mustang GT: