Shelby's awesome 'rent a racer' set for return

Shelby, makers of the GT500 for Ford, may partner Hertz for the street-legal rental deal. Photo / Supplied

Shelby American is considering resurrecting its "rent-a-racer" programme that offers upgraded Mustang GTs for enthusiast-oriented consumers, says US magazine AutoWeek.

Likely to be timed to mark the storied company's 50th anniversary, the programme could launch as early as next year.

The cars would be offered in two traditional configurations: black and gold, and white and gold. Power would come from the naturally aspirated 5-litre V8, which makes 307kW in the 2012 Mustang GT, and an automatic transmission.

The rental racers would continue the lineage of street-legal Shelbys available for short stints. In 1966, the company teamed with Hertz to produce 1000 copies of the performance Mustang.

Forty years later, the programme came back, and the GT-H was popular with enthusiasts despite limited availability. The Shelby GT-H cars were later offered for sale.

Shelby hasn't finalised the potential 2012 programme and is gauging interest. Hertz has been Shelby's historic partner for the rent-a-racer ventures.

Hertz offers the Mustang GT in premium packaging for rental as part of its "Adrenaline" collection, but the Shelby hasn't been available recently.

In addition to the eye-catching livery, Shelby also usually boosted the Mustangs with a bit of extra power and body treatments.

Look for similar elements if this modern programme comes to fruition.