James Garner and his Iconic 1966 Shelby Cult Car

[FL SAAC]

James Garner wasn't just a Hollywood icon — he was a certified car guy, with a soft spot for speed and style.

Known for his cool demeanor on The Rockford Files and his rugged charm in Westerns, Garner didn't just play the smooth operator — he lived it.

 And nothing made that clearer than the car he loved to cruise in, the 1966 Shelby GT350-H Cult Car


More Than a Star James Garner and His Iconic 1966 Shelby

https://tork.buzz/classics/More-Than-a-Star-James-Garner-and-His-Iconic-1966-Shelby-20250609-0052.html

[TA Coupe]

James garner also raced and had his own racing team:


https://ormhof.org/james-garner

The smothers brothers also did some racing back in the day

https://driving.ca/car-culture/people/smothers-brothers-racing-team-dick-tom-comedy#:~:text=In%20the%201960s%2C%20the%20Smothers,him%20into%20another%20passion%3A%20racing.

     Roy

[hertzz350]

Any info on the # of his car? 

[tesgt350]

Several Celebrities got into Racing and a few went Pro. Patrick Dempsey from Gray's Anatomy , Frankie Muniz from Malcom In The Middle and Jason Priestley from Beverly Hill's 90210 and they were/are quit good too. 

[FL SAAC]

Any info on the # of his car? 

Listen I am only going to tell you and only you....this will be our little secret. Please dont tell anyone else about this Legendary Cult Cars C.S.M. number...

James Garner drove a 1966 Shelby GT350H with the Hertz "Rent-A-Racer" paint scheme, specifically #6S661, in the movie "The Grand Prix". 

This particular car was unique as it was equipped with a 4-speed manual gearbox, rather than the automatic found in most GT350H's. 

[tesgt350]

I thought that only a few of the Early Cars had a Manual Trans.  Since this one is in the beginning of the last third of the run, was the 4 Speed installed for the Movie?

[shelbydoug]

This car was owned for years by Don Wells in the Poughkeepsie, NY area. We saw it regularly at SAAC meets although I'm not sure that it was known that this was "Garner's" car from the movie at the time?

The identity may have come up later, late 1990's, as a result of the "Registrar" discovering additional documentation that identified the "Grande Prix" H movie car?

But yes Tony, we were accustomed to "hangin' out" with lots of "movie stars" here in the NY. How 'bout u?

[CSX4781]

I think it was actually 6S611. We saw it at SAAC-12 in Charlotte in 1987, and it was known to be the car used in Grand Prix at that time, had just recently been returned from Europe. IIRC, it had a German Ford data plate in addition to the Shelby American tag, and large gold snakes painted on the rear quarters.