900-HP Ford Mustang Rentals: A New Way for Hertz Customers to Go to Jail
Keep an eye on your rearview mirror, either way.
In a move that pays homage to the classic '60s Rent-A-Racer program that gave Hertz customers access to Shelby-tuned Ford Mustangs, Hertz has announced it's doing something similar once more. This time, however, Shelby is bumping up the output on certain GT500s to a frankly absurd 900-plus horsepower, which is at least 100 more than the actually for-sale Signature Edition. No word on how much that rental insurance—or bail—is gonna cost you, though.
The most powerful version—the 900-plus hp fastback, of which 25 total will be built—is a specially tuned GT500 with a golden-hued supercharger strapped to the 5.2-liter V8, a carbon-fiber hood that Hertz says removes 30 pounds from the car, and a Borla exhaust. These highest-power variants will only be available to rent in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and several cities in Florida. Hertz brags that the GT500H, as this version is named, is "the most powerful rental car that Shelby has ever built."
A more tame version, known as the GT-H with a mere 450 HP from its Coyote 5.0-liter, will come in both convertible and fastback variants, and those simply receive a Borla exhaust and more traditional Shelby visual treatment. The GT-H will be featured in more cities than the GT-500H, with locations in Texas, California, and Georgia also offering them to renters. No matter which version drivers can get their hands on, they'll get gold Hertz-livery striping, special Hertz badging and interior trim pieces, and staggered 20-inch wheels.
Hertz has offered a ton of sports cars throughout its history. And in the past few years, as the company went through bankruptcy and was forced by creditors to sell swathes of its fleet, Hertz has ended up parting ways with a lot of those special editions. This includes Hendrick-tuned Chevy Camaro ZL1s and Corvette Z06s. Now Hertz is rebuilding its fleet as the economy ostensibly recovers from the pandemic, although it's perhaps best known in recent months for filing mistaken police reports that land customers in jail.
Whether the Shelby helps restore the company to glory days past remains to be seen, although I'd be willing to guess that the 900-hp GT500H can land enough people in jail without any help at all from Hertz.
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