Hertz Teases New Mustang Shelby GT500 Special That You Can Rent Like You Stole It
Hertz doesn’t often have the opportunity to make an announcement exciting enough to warrant a teaser campaign, but its association with Shelby means that it today teased a new product that it would introduce on May 10.
The company appears to be teasing that it will soon offer a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 to its customers. The model will follow in the company’s rich tradition of renting out high-performance models.
In 1966, the company partnered with Carroll Shelby for the fondly-remembered “Rent-a-Racer” program that started with the 1966 Shelby GT.350H model, painted in an attractive black and gold livery.
The tradition has continued through the years, with the rental company offering more Mustangs through the years, as well as Corvettes and other performance models. In 2019, it even offered a line of modified Chevrolet Camaros based on the Camaro SS and ZL1 that made up to 750 hp (559 kW / 760 PS).
Although Hertz has yet to reveal exactly what model will join that lineup of performance machines, the company has provided several hints, with a video that shows a Shelby snake logo and some shots of a hood with many slats in it, suggesting that it will be a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.
This is the most powerful production Mustang of all time and its supercharged 5.2-liter V8 makes 760 hp (567 kW/770 PS). That’s enough to get it up to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 3.5 seconds and through the quarter-mile in less than 11 seconds.
It has been noted, though, that its remarkable power rating and its front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout make it a handful to get off the line. Rental customers may have to be careful if and when they manage to rent the powerful car lest they become the latest contributors to the automotive internet’s favorite meme.
