Reflecting on the Rich History of Hertz Special Edition Ford Mustangs
Back in May, rental car giant Hertz has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after bleeding cash as the COVID-19 pandemic virtually shut down the plant’s transportation industry for months. It’s a sad development for an iconic company that’s been in business for 102 years, and one that’s long enjoyed a special relationship with Ford. So we thought we’d take this time to look back at the many cool and unique Hertz Ford special edition models produced over the years.
The Hertz Ford relationship spans back to the ’60s, when the duo paired up to build the very first “rental racer” — the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350-H.
The original “rent-a-racer” was a truly groundbreaking machine, not only because of its gorgeous design and black-and-gold paint scheme, but because of the sheer novelty of the idea that a regular, working class person could rent a race car and drive it on the street for a day or a few.
A grand total of 1,000 of these Hertz Ford Shelby Mustangs were created following a deal between the General Manager of Shelby American, Peyton Cramer, and the Hertz Corporation. Needless to say, it generated a huge amount of interest and helped Hertz become the second-largest rental car company in America.
