485hp Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Since November 2006 I am a proud owner of Shelby GT-H #98. Since a few days the Coupe is sharing the garage with GT-H vert #487. By going through all the paperwork regarding import, customs, etc. I found the following story which I wrote a year ago but was never published. So I thought as a brand new member of Team Shelby I should post it here. Up to know I have not heard of any other GT-H´s outside the USA so if you know of any car in Europe or the rest of the world please post it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
485hp Posted March 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 The whole story begun some 12 years ago when I visited Monterey and visited an auction of sport- and classic cars. A Shelby Mustang 350 GT-H from 1966 was offered in a more than perfect condition including even the original license plate with the original license plate holder. At that time we where not only the Hertz franchisee for Austria but also Austrian importer and dealer for Chevrolet, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Pontiac. I saw this great car and immediately fell in love with it but I had never been to an auction before and had no idea how to get some money within the next minutes to buy the car. Also I did not know anything about the value of the car. And then to display it in the Chevy / Cadillac Showroom was neither the best idea. So I found some (not excusable) reasons to miss this opportunity, which still hurts today. I have to add that next to my profession being the Austrian Hertz franchise I am a total car nut. So when I heard that Hertz was introducing again a Shelby Mustang I immediately contacted Hertz USA and finally I was able to purchase one of these GT-H. After having arranged shipment to Europe by the end of November my wife and me decided to collect the car at the harbour in Germany instead of having it delivered to our office in Vienna. The plan was to fly to Hamburg on Thursday, collect the car on Friday, make sightseeing on Saturday and drive back to Vienna on Sunday. But plans never change, do they? So when arriving in Hamburg we where told that there was a “little delay” because the car missed the ship. So we had three beautiful days in Hamburg, made Christmas shopping and on Sunday my wife flew back to Vienna alone. On Monday morning I drove 100 miles from Hamburg to Bremerhafen, the main harbour for car shipping. After a dry weekend it was a rainy day but lucky wise not cold enough for snow, which was my biggest concern for the whole trip. Not because of the summer tyres but I was afraid of salt on the road, which would destroy the car on a long-term basis. Early afternoon I arrived at the harbour where thousands of cars where waiting for the export to the US and some for their new European Owners. Finally I found the company that has organized the transport and custom formalities. Everything was prepared I just had to sign the take over of the car. After having received the keys the guy said: “The car is parked around the corner behind our building. Have a look at it, check for damages, sign one more time and than have fun.” First I just saw some Porsche 959 and 911 3,8 RSR and an Audi Sport Quattro which are very rare and desirable. My excitement grew even more with the next two cars which where a brand new yellow Mustang GT and a white Mustang of the sixties. Finally I saw a black hood and there it was: My Shelby GT-H. What an impression! The hood with this stripes – unbelievable. The golden stripe on a black car! The design of the wheels! And no damages on the body (the car just had 1000 miles but the transport sometimes can be dangerous). And the Hertz-Logos: For me as a Hertz-man since 25 years something very special. In the trunk some posters and press-information I asked for so everything was perfect. I entered the driver seat and was very much surprised: The engine hood is so much bigger / higher than I have ever seen at any other car. My first thought was I just can see half as much than driving a normal Mustang. By the way: I did not drive the new Mustang before – neither an old one. So the impression of the whole car was very big, very long and very wide. But the seats were very comfortable and anyway: The keys where waiting to start the engine. No starting button, just an old-fashioned key. After turning it I heard for the first time in my live the sound of a Shelby engine. I knew that a sixties - Shelby might sound different and a Cobra even more but I liked what I heard. The first drive was just about 200 yards back to the office. The car felt much softer in suspension than I thought but I don’t want to describe this as a disappointment. In the meantime I spent more than one hour by looking at the car, taking pictures and finishing the paperwork. Just one little detail was missing: Where to place the plate number! In Europe you have to have a plate number at the front and the back of a car. The car will be registered in Austria in 2007 so I had a special dealer plate number with me. I planned to keep the front plate at the passenger seat and tape the back plate in the rear window. But you remember what happens with plans? No way to pass the custom control half a mile away without proper fixed plate number. I was prepared for my trip back, had a big Coke for the journey but nothing to fix safely the plates without scratching or damaging the body of the car. Due to the size of the harbour and the non-existence of shops in that area it took me another hour to find a place to buy some soft stuff and tape. When it got dark and rainy again also this little problem was solved and I started my journey back home. A few miles after the custom control I stopped at the first gasoline station just to find out that Shelby’s have the filling hole on the left side, which is unusual for me. Having managed to park the car at the right side the first curious came along, looked around the car and was full of compliments about this unknown vehicle. Wherever I had to stop I had this experience again. Finally I started the drive back home to Vienna. The first few miles I was disappointed by the driving performance. Because it is a close to new car I was not pushing it very hard but I was missing a little bit more power. I guess the automatic transmission needs some extra horsepower. I was driving on the German highway with an average speed of 110 miles in a dark and wet night which was a very comfortable speed for cruising home. But while slowing down due to traffic I always heard some strange noises. I stopped twice because I thought that either the hood was not closed or that the front plate number was starting to fly away. But the plate was still fixed very well and also the engine-hood was closed. It took me another few miles to locate the problem: It simply was the radio. I was so exited about the new car and the sound of it that I did not realize that the radio was still activated but lost the radio-station. And when the sound of engine and wind due to slower driving got to a lower level I heard that scratching noise! Anyway the sound was a very nice one. It’s powerful and loud but not destroying the ears. The real hammer (sound and power) falls when making a kick down through all gears. That’s very close to the sound of the new Lamborghini Gallardo. Just the shifting paddles are missing. Because of the unplanned late departure from Bremerhaven I had not studied the manual of the car. Most of the switches where clear but with three or four of them it took me a while to understand how to change the CD`s (which are unnecessary because the engine is making the music) or that the yellow symbol which is appearing suddenly is the overdrive. I found out that there is a sign for actual gas-consumption but it all depends on your right feet – so it’s needless. But missing is a sign for the outside temperature. The most difficult one was to find out how to switch between miles and kilometres. It took me more than 600 miles to change it – and it was so simple! I made an unplanned overnight stop in Frankfurt and the next morning in the traffic jam and at the petrol-station I always got the same reactions: Everybody was looking at the car and asked the same 3 questions: “What car is this” or “This is a beautiful Mustang – is it something special?” or being an insider: “Is it REALLY a Shelby?” Now at daylight, dry weather and a car with some miles on it I tried to check out the speed-performance of the car. I was not able to make much more than 140 miles per hour due to traffic but the car is running very smoothly at that speed. The sound is great and becomes better and better the longer your journey is. I think on a weekend with no truck traffic a higher speed is possible but also 140 mph are fun. For my personal taste I would have changed some parts of the car – beginning with brakes, automatic to shifting gears, traction control … but then the car would be a GT-R instead of a GT-H. And I’m very happy with my GT-H. I will not change anything except of the legal needs to register the car in Austria. Arriving in Vienna I phoned my family to come out of the house to see me entering the garage with the new car. The kids did not know about this car, for them it was a big surprise. They all went crazy and after a six hour drive I had to add some more miles with them. In the meantime they are arguing who will heritate the car in future. In total the trip to collect the car by myself in Germany was a 813 miles drive with an average speed of 72 mph and an average gas consumption of 15,4 mpg. To my knowledge it is the only 2006 Shelby GT-H in Europe and one of the first ones sold in 2006. We had the car for display at the “Vienna holiday fair” in January to promote travel to and in the US and we will continue to present it at special events. But also on a nice sunny day and after registration in April with an Austrian plate there might be the chance to see this very special Shelby on an Austrian road. 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485hp Posted March 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Up to now I have around 5.300 miles with the Coupe. It will be less this year because now there is also a convertible waiting. And a Cobra Replica and … But it is great fun and the reaction from people on the street is amazing. I did not know that Shelby is so well known here. But I can live with that! Also I bought the original hood numbered and signed by Carroll Shelby. It’s a great display and I really love it. Now I am just missing the Shelby-Hertz jacket and a GT-H Fender guitar. Anyone around here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffJ Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Great story. Thank you so much for sharing!! I felt the same way when I rented #100. I knew I had to have one. I didn't end up with #100, but at least I have #102! :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffJ Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Also, see this thread. 06 Coupe #488 is in the UK. http://forum.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23321 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HARALD KELLEY Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Since November 2006 I am a proud owner of Shelby GT-H #98. Since a few days the Coupe is sharing the garage with GT-H vert #487. By going through all the paperwork regarding import, customs, etc. I found the following story which I wrote a year ago but was never published. So I thought as a brand new member of Team Shelby I should post it here. Up to know I have not heard of any other GT-H´s outside the USA so if you know of any car in Europe or the rest of the world please post it here. Great story. I live in Marina CA just 12 miles north of Monterey. Own # 50 Congradulations. 2006 models, 461 in Australia and 488 in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertlane Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Since November 2006 I am a proud owner of Shelby GT-H #98. Since a few days the Coupe is sharing the garage with GT-H vert #487. By going through all the paperwork regarding import, customs, etc. I found the following story which I wrote a year ago but was never published. So I thought as a brand new member of Team Shelby I should post it here. Up to know I have not heard of any other GT-H´s outside the USA so if you know of any car in Europe or the rest of the world please post it here. Radical story. I love Austria (Meine Grossmutter kommt aus Wien aber mein Grossvater kommt aus Preussen ). I think the new GT-Hs are really striking. You are right: the black against the gold is really awesome. I bet the car gets a lot of looks is Austria. I get to Austria once a year and hardly see any Mustangs there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
485hp Posted March 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 I get to Austria once a year and hardly see any Mustangs there. This is because not only in Austria but in whole Europe the Mustang is not offered by Ford. You just can buy them through private importers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK GT-H Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 I am the owner of GT-H #488 here in the United Kingdom. I bought my car from an advert on E Bay at a Ford Dealer in Tennessee. My car was rented through Hertz in Florida. It shares garage space with my 1966 289 Fastback. I do know of two other GT-H's in the UK. They were sold through a dealer in London. I do not have the CSM #'s. Kent Thirley Since November 2006 I am a proud owner of Shelby GT-H #98. Since a few days the Coupe is sharing the garage with GT-H vert #487. By going through all the paperwork regarding import, customs, etc. I found the following story which I wrote a year ago but was never published. So I thought as a brand new member of Team Shelby I should post it here. Up to know I have not heard of any other GT-H´s outside the USA so if you know of any car in Europe or the rest of the world please post it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
485hp Posted August 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Everybody who missed the opportunity to rent the 06 GT-H: Here it comes again! In Amsterdam (Netherlands, Europe) Hertz is offering the GT-H for a daily rate of € 250,-. I don´t know how many cars the have but for everybody making a holiday trip in Europe a nice chance again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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