Rent to Own
Bid on the Shelby GT-H prototype at the Barrett Jackson auction in June
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company
On Monday we learned that Ford, Hertz and Shelby celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1966 Shelby GT350-H rental car with the introduction of a 2016 Shelby GT-H at the New York International Auto Show. Starting this Memorial Day weekend, you’ll be able to take a summer road trip in style by renting one at a participating airport rental counter. If you would rather own one, however, that opportunity is coming in June.
Sure the 140 GT-H rental cars will eventually hit the resale market after they age out of the rental fleet. However, if you can’t wait that long or you would rather own the rarest of the bunch, Shelby is auctioning off the prototype version that hung on the wall at NYIAS.
“Ford Motor Company, Shelby American and Hertz made history when they collaborated on their first Mustang-based car 50 years ago,” said Joe Conway, Co-CEO of Carroll Shelby International, CEO of Shelby American, Co-Trustee of the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust and Board member of the Carroll Shelby Foundation. “Not only does the 2016 Shelby GT-H mark the 50th anniversary of the original 1966 Shelby Hertz ‘Rent-A-Racer,’ it is the prototype for the newest generation car. This is a rare opportunity to own a very special collector car and help fuel the charity that Carroll Shelby founded.”
You can see the Shelby GT-H in action right here…
[video=youtube;oOu32BIXSWI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOu32BIXSWI[/video]
Like the production rental cars, the prototype Shelby GT-H features black paint, gold stripes and numerous GT-H logos and badges. They are also upgraded with a cat-back exhausts and Handling Packs from Ford Performance Parts. The latter includes tuned dampers, lowering springs, sway bars and a staggered 19-inch wheel kit wearing Michelin tires.
Watch time-lapse video of one being built right here…
[video=youtube;Uk6RITcpKJE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6RITcpKJE[/video]
“The Shelby GT-H represents a significant part Shelby American’s heritage as well as Carroll’s legacy,” said Neil Cummings, Co-CEO of Carroll Shelby International, CEO of Carroll Shelby Licensing, Co-Trustee of the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust and Board member of the Carroll Shelby Foundation. “The Carroll Shelby Foundation is pleased to work with great partners like Shelby American, Ford Motor Company and Hertz to further Carroll’s vision to help kids.”
The Carroll Shelby Foundation is dedicated to providing financial support to children with health issues.
“This auction will help the Carroll Shelby Foundation continue Carroll’s legacy,” said Jenni Shreeves, Executive Director, Carroll Shelby Foundation. “The money raised from this special Shelby will help provide medical assistance and educational opportunities for children, young people and those in need.”
The prototype will be sold with no reserve at the inaugural Barrett-Jackson Mohegan Sun Auction in Uncasville, Connecticut, on June 24, 2016, and driving it onto the auction block will be Carroll Shelby’s grandson, Aaron Shelby.
“I’m excited to be a part of this historic event,” Aaron added. “As a board member of the Carroll Shelby Foundation, it’s extremely rewarding to see my grandfather’s legacy of helping kids continue through the auction of the 2016 Shelby GT-H. I’m confident he would have loved this car and what it represents for his Foundation.”
Wearing the signature Hertz black paint and gold stripes the 2016 Shelby GT-H prototype set for auction wears a vented hood, a carbon-fiber front splitter and special GT-H badges on the grille and fenders. Setting the stance over the staggered wheel and tire combo is a Ford Performance Handling Pack.
Want to own the very Shelby GT-H that hung on the wall of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center during the 2016 New York Auto Show? You can bid on it at the Barrett Jackson auction in Connecticut this June.
In back the GT-H growls through a Ford Performance/Borla exhaust and wears Shelby, GT-H and Powered by Ford Performance badging.
