Following the enthusiastic reception to the special Ford Shelby Mustang GT-H in 2006, a car which marked the 40th anniversary since the original “rent a racer” Mustang 350 GT-H of 1966, Hertz have followed up with something equally special for their US fleet every couple of years or so. The majority of these cars have been based on the Ford Mustang of the day and most of them have been produced in conjunction with Shelby. Available from around a dozen of the largest US airport locations, at prices which are pretty affordable when you consider the performance on offer, each of these models tends to stay on fleet for at least a year, after which the cars are sold off. One of the rare exceptions to the Mustang and Shelby custom was the last special car that Hertz offered, a Camaro produced in association with Hendrick Motor Sports. These cars hit the fleet in late 2019 just before the challenges of the Covid lockdowns. Some were sold off more or less immediately, but the others stayed around for a lot longer than usual, as there was little demand until life got back to usual. During 2022, though, they all gradually disappeared, causing everyone to wonder what would come next, if indeed there would be anything like this from an industry that was badly affected by lockdowns. We did not have long to wait, as in the late spring of 2022, Hertz announced their latest partnership with Shelby, and some new cars based on the latest seventh generation Mustang. I saw the first ones at the LAX facility on my November 2022 trip. You can’t miss then, as they have distinctive liveries. This time there is a choice of both Coupe and Convertible bodystyles and colours. These new Shelby GT-H Mustang Fastbacks and Convertibles are available in Rapid Red metallic, Oxford White, Carbonized Gray and Shadow Black exterior paint. Both vehicles are set off with gold “Le Mans” dual racing stripes and set of special rocker stripes, along with Hertz Edition and Shelby 60th anniversary emblems. Inside, Shelby and Hertz logos are on the seats, sill plates and floor mats; a numbered badge is on the dash and under the bonnet. All Shelby GT-H Mustangs receive full leather Shelby by Katzkins recovers. The Shelby GT-H Mustang rides on lightweight aluminium, forged, flow form wheels produced by the Carroll Shelby Wheel company and are paired with Shelby spec performance tyres, in bright or black finishes. Both convertibles and fastbacks have staggered wheel kit. The Shelby GT-H Mustang rides on 20-inch aluminium wheels wearing all weather Michelin tyres and is also fitted with a unique Shelby-designed deep-draw hood, upper grille, fascia winglets and taillight panel. Needless to say I wanted to test one. My chance came on the first day of my Spring 2023 trip when a number of these cars were parked up in the President’s Circle area, so available without even having to pay an upgrade fee. It goes without saying, I did not hesitate!
If you’re familiar with the original 1966 Hertz Mustang program, or even the 2006 and 2016 versions, you know the whole premise was not to rent black and gold Mustangs but to rent cars with actual performance upgrades. The 1966 cars were true competition-worthy creations with an upgraded engine, suspension, and steering, so much so they were actually raced by renters and, in some cases, had their parts or even entire engines stolen and replaced with lesser parts from stock Mustangs. The 2006 and 2016 cars featured progressively fewer performance modifications, but they were still hotter than a standard Mustang. Unfortunately, that trend has continued for the 2022 Hertz Shelby Mustang GT-H. The Shelby treatment is almost entirely cosmetic, with the exception of an exhaust system co-developed between Shelby and Borla and a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres. Not that you should feel that disappointed, as the starting point, a 2022 model year Mustang 5.0 GT with the Performance Pack is far from lacking in performance. It has 450 bhp even before the exhaust upgrade that is part of the Shelby offering. All these cars are coupled to a 10 speed automatic transmission. The Performance Pack also gives you upgraded brakes, suspension, and a limited-slip rear axle out of the box.
There is keyless starting, with the starter button positioned low on the console. Press that and there is a very pleasing sound indeed, as the engine roars into life. There is little doubt that you are in a V8 powered car and that it is a bit special. That wondrous sound continues as you move away, getting even better if you are able to give the car some meaningful acceleration, not something that could be done until well clear of the morning traffic around the Hertz LAX facility. As soon as you can push the pedal even moderately, it is clear that this is a rapid car. A very rapid car. The official 0 – 60 mph time of the standard car is quoted at 3.9 seconds, so this sure is rapid. There are 10 forward gears. At launch, it apparently felt like car had been geared for economy, but Ford have revised that so it even though the transmission does not seem to use all those gears all the time, though you are only really aware of this if you are watching the indicator in the instrument cluster which tells you which gear is in use, the car still feels like it is always in Sport mode. There is lots of torque available, so even when the car is in tenth gear there is strong acceleration. That tenth gear ratio is high, though, as at 70 mph, the Mustang’s engine is spinning at under 1900 rpm. Sadly, the car had something of a boom at steady speed which meant that freeway cruising was not as relaxing as you might hope. Fuel economy will really depend on how you drive the car. I covered a total of 399 miles, but a lot of that was at a steady speed on the freeway, so I probably achieved as good a fuel consumption as you could expect. The car needed 15.1 gallons to fill it, which works out at 26.42 mpg US or 31. 57 mpg Imperial which is pretty good. Enjoy bursts of acceleration, though and that figure would come tumbling down.
The other driving dynamics are generally good, oriented towards sporting fun rather than comfort. The steering is well judged with plenty of feel and a nice precision to it, whilst still remaining light enough when manoeuvering. The handling is excellent too, with lots of grip, no body and a sense of fun which does encourage you to take the corners briskly. The car is stiffly suspended and rides on large wheels. The fronts are 255/35 R20 and those at the rear are 275/35 R20. There are powerful brakes which do the job well and you still get a conventional pull-up handbrake between the seats. Visibility is challenging. The door mirrors are small, though the Blind Spot Warning system does help. The view forwards is dominated by that massive raised bonnet, and the view over your shoulder is very poor thanks to the coupe styling and thick rear pillars. There are plenty of other electronic safety features, of which the Lane Keep Assist is the most evident, and often annoying one.
With the exception of the Shelby plaque and the special logos, the interior of this car is standard Mustang. Successive generations of the car have upgraded the quality as well as incorporating ever more tech. The dashboard is a mix of leather and plastic pretending to be milled metal which still betrays the Mustang’s origins as an affordable car with prosaic roots, even though these days it is not based directly on a small saloon as the first models were. There is a chunky leather-wrapped steering wheel. These days, Mustangs come with electronic dials. The rev counter, set to the left, includes the water temperature gauge level and a gear selection indicator whilst the speedometer, to the right, also contains the fuel gauge. The centre of the display is configurable, using buttons on the steering wheel. There are also two dials on the dash between the central air vents. Two chunky column stalks take care of indicators and lights whilst the lights operate from a rotary dial on the dash to the left of the wheel. The infotainment screen is integrated into the centre of the dash. It is not that big and I found the navigation graphics not very clear, but generally it was easy enough to use. As well as XM Satellite Radio, you get Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Audio controls are presented below the unit. Below this are the buttons for the dual zone climate control. There are a row of toggle switches below this which convey a bit of a retro-look.
The Shelby features leather sports seats, complete with the special logos. They are manually adjustable, as is the steering column which moves up/down as well as in/out. You do site low in the car, as you would expect in a sports coupe which means that there is enough headroom, though you will feel that there not actually a lot of space. The seat itself proved very comfortable.
Despite the long doors, it is still not very easy to get into the back of the Mustang, as only the seat backrest tips forward, leaving quite a narrow space through which you need to clamber. And getting out is harder still. There’s not that much space here once you are installed. At best this is a four seater as there are two clearly defined bucket seats, but adults will find themselves challenged both for legroom and headroom. Kids will probably have no issues. There is no provision for oddments stowage here.
There is no external release for the boot. You either need to use the button on the key fob or the electric release on the dashboard. As with all previous generation Mustangs, the bigger issue as far as the boot is concerned is the difficult access as the lid itself is quite small. Whilst the capacity is not huge, I know from experience that if you can squeeze your suitcase through the slot, then it will fit quite easily. There is more space available under the boot floor and the backrests drop down to give a much longer load area. Inside the passenger compartment, there is a modestly sized glovebox as well as small door pockets, a recess in front of the gearlever and an armrest cubby.
It almost goes without saying that I enjoyed my day with the Mustang GT-H. The sound of that engine and the explosive performance alone pretty much guarantee that. Add in the other driving dynamics and this is definitely a fun car from behind the wheel. The interior, whilst still far from class leading, is sufficient of an improvement that you are unlikely to have serious complaints, and for two people the car has enough space that you could certainly travel with your luggage, though whether you would feel comfortable would depend on your tolerance of the stiff ride and that boomy exhaust. I suspect that for regular long journeys, the novelty may wear off, but for a few days of fun, as a rental car, this is probably as good as it gets at present.
