by Dave Ashton
Shelby America and Hertz have teamed up to offer the 2022 Shelby GT-H and 900-horsepower, GT500-H as rental vehicles. The collaboration is part of a three-year deal, making the 900-horsepower, 5.2-liter V8 tuned Predator GT500-H, the most powerful rental vehicle in Hertz history.
Hertz has been offering intermittently souped-up Mustangs since the 1960s, like the 1966 Shelby GT350-H. Back then, some enterprising or very naughty boys and girls used to rent the cars on a Friday, pop the engine out to drop into their own dragsters, then return the engine and the car by Monday. Cars are a little more complicated these days, so this route is not advisable.
However, the choice between driving the GT-H Coupe and convertible, plus the GT-500H should be enough to keep anyone occupied for the weekend, without voiding the likes of insurance and warranties.
What to Expect
Firstly the GT-H Coupe. This option has a direct linage back to the original 1966 Shelby GT350-H, with close ties to the 2006-2007 and 2016 options. The GT-H has a 5.0-liter Mustang GT Coyote V8, and with the Borla-constructed, Shelby-branded exhaust, it should kick out more than 450HP. Prices have been predicted to start at $99 a day without mileage restrictions.
Only 25 examples of the GT-500H with an insane 900HP will be available. A Whipple screw-type supercharger handles all the power, going through a dual-clutch Tremec transmission, producing a 3.4 seconds/60 mph time and 11.3 seconds/132 mph quarter-mile run.
To help stop the thing are Brembo brakes, plus 305/30ZR20 at the front and 315/30ZR20s rear tires.
Prices here start at $399 a day, including a free 75 miles of usage. Any additional miles will be charged at $.99 per mile. Also, no one-way rentals, as the vehicle must be returned to the outlet from where it was rented. I guess Hertz is also factoring into the rental price all the tires they are going to get through.
Is it worth the rental?
An emphatic yes.
If you consider our current point in automotive history, EVs are slowly taking over the world. It may only be a few short years before these types of vehicles are either legislated or priced off the road. We can’t predict the future, but even if you have to wait a year to hire one of these things, it’s worth doing.
It’s also an added expense, but to really appreciate what these vehicles can do, throwing them around a private track is probably the best option. You will obviously have to check out the small print to see if this is allowed.
If these two rolling monsters have whetted your appetite, then check out the blurb on the Hert website for initial information.
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