Adrenaline for hire

Think “hire car” and chances are the first image that springs to mind is of a white Mitsubishi Magna or Kia Carnival peoplemover. But Ford’s US arm has just unveiled a new take on the hire car theme that’s bound to prompt a rethink on the way in which we perceive renters.

Presenting the stove-hot Shelby GT-H Mustang -- a menacing coupe that was designed specifically as a rental car for the biggest name in the business, Hertz.

Car nuts will remember this is not the first time Ford has embarked on such a program. Forty years ago, the blue oval initiated the Shelby/Hertz ‘Rent-A-Racer’ program with one of the hottest Mustangs of the day -- the GT350. Ford supplied the new Mustangs with hairy-chested V8 engines, while legendary racer-turned-tuner Carroll Shelby added extra performance and style.

Hertz was subsequently able to give the public access to the kind of unique driving experience that one would normally only find on a racetrack.

In fact, rumour has it several customers returned cars to Hertz with telltale weld marks in the cabin -- left over from having installed a roll-cage with which to go racing!

No doubt several examples were left worse for wear, but the surviving Shelby GT350H Mustangs are among the most sought-after collector cars in the world and command big dollars.

Fast-forwarding to the present, Ford’s latest tie-up with Hertz is a public-relations masterstroke that will undoubtedly benefit both. About 500 examples of the Shelby GT-H will be available to rent exclusively through the Hertz ‘Fun Collection’ at select US airports airport in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

“Like the original Hertz cars, the Ford Shelby GT-H will be fun to drive,” promised Carroll Shelby at the car’s recent New York Auto Show unveiling.

Like its predecessor, the 2006 Ford Shelby GT-H will also be instantly recognizable, thanks in no small part to the black and gold livery that’s been a hallmark of Hertz’s vehicle history, dating all the way back to the 1920s.

The Ford Shelby GT-H also sports a custom Shelby Performance bonnet with pins, and a brushed aluminium grille with running horse emblem. A unique front fascia with integrated lower grille, as well as a set of body side scoops -- reminiscent of classic Shelby Mustangs -- further distinguishes it.

Unfortunately the renter doesn’t score the supercharged 5.4-litre V8 that powers the range-topping Shelby Cobra GT500, but its 4.6-litre quad-cam V8 is a warmed-over variant with an additional 18kW and 15Nm, thanks to a Ford Racing 90mm cold air kit, muffler kit, a new X-pipe similar to the one used on the Shelby GT500 Mustang and a cat-back performance exhaust for a “throaty sound that will make this car unmistakably a Shelby Mustang GT-H”.

To further catch the enthusiast’s eye, the Mustang GT brakes are dressed up with painted calipers, which can be seen through the GT-H’s 17-inch aluminium wheels wearing P235/55ZR17 performance rubber.

To put that extra horsepower to the ground, the Ford Shelby GT-H also comes with the Ford Racing Handling Pack (FR3) installed, including special-tuned dampers inspired from the FR500C, lowering springs, sway bars and a strut tower brace -- plus a Ford Racing 3.55:1 ratio rear axle assembly for extra off-the-line acceleration.

Alas there’s little chance of being able to rock up to a local Aussie Hertz office and driving away in a GT-H… Perhaps Avis might take a hint and dream up a run of nicely re-upholstered Camrys…