The 1966 Shelby GT350H is the Hertz rent-a-racer story that everyone in this hobby knows and most people tell slightly wrong.

Hertz did rent Shelbys as part of their Sports Car Club program in 1966. The cars were modified from standard GT350s to be rental-friendly — automatic transmission option, milder tune, some had fold-down rear seats. The legend that renters drag-raced them on weekends and returned them with broken engines is partly true and partly embellished.

What's definitely true: the cars were hard-used. Hertz reportedly had to rebuild some engines before resale. The surviving Hertz cars have provenance documentation and command a premium. The replicas built on standard GT350 shells are everywhere and worth knowing how to identify.