Chassis No. 1ZVET82H565226434

Identification No. CSM 06H0003

For 1966, Ford, Shelby American, and the Hertz rental car company collaborated on a small run of GT350s in special black and Hertz Gold livery, which would be rented over select Hertz counters to those specially qualified to handle such powerful machinery. This famously allowed one of the most powerful automobiles on the American street into a lot of weekend racers' hands, creating a particularly memorable story of the Total Performance era.

The three firms never learned their lesson and in 2006 collaborated again on a 40th anniversary GT-H, of which 500 examples were produced and leased through Hertz outlets in major cities. These cars featured a 1966 Shelby-style grille, Le Mans stripes, pin-locked hood, rear deck spoiler, special Hertz fender badging, air scoops to cool the brakes, fog lights below the front bumper, and American Racing wheels, as well as a specially tuned, 325 bhp 4.6-litre V-8.

Of the 500 GT-Hs built for 2006, four were very special indeed. Built for various executives behind the operation, this quartet were the only 2006 GT-Hs delivered with a five-speed manual transmission, rather than the automatic gearbox provided to Hertz customers. These cars boasted a much more exceptional driving experience, along with a slightly different appearance and stance thanks to the use of 18-inch, rather than 17-inch, polished magnesium wheels. They were never really intended to slip into public use and are, by far, the rarest of the Hertz 'Executive Cars,' with the subsequent 2007 and 2016 models being produced in slightly larger numbers.

Jim Taylor's car is one of those four rarities and the first to come to market in some time. It remains in excellent overall condition, as it should, having recorded only 1,650 miles since new at the time of cataloging. Accompanying is a small but satisfying collection of documentation, including Ford Pre-Delivery Service Record and Final Quality Checklist, photographs of the delivery, Ford and Shelby Automobiles invoices, Certificate of Origin, and a window sticker confirming delivery with the five-speed transmission.

For the connoisseur of Hertz Shelbys, it does not get much better than that offered here, a meticulously kept and extremely low-mileage of a stick-shift Rent-a-Racer in its most unobtainable form.