diff --git a/docs/car.rst b/docs/car.rst
index 623803f10..d8bee2462 100644
--- a/docs/car.rst
+++ b/docs/car.rst
@@ -103,7 +103,6 @@ If you open ``vanilla/templates/config/elasticsearch.yml`` you will see a few va
 
 * ``network_host``
 * ``http_port``
-* ``node_count_per_host``
 
 These values are derived by Rally internally based on command line flags and you cannot override them in your car definition. You also cannot use these names as names for variables because Rally would simply override them.
 
diff --git a/esrally/mechanic/provisioner.py b/esrally/mechanic/provisioner.py
index ad593cfb4..63b350d17 100644
--- a/esrally/mechanic/provisioner.py
+++ b/esrally/mechanic/provisioner.py
@@ -283,8 +283,6 @@ def variables(self):
             "all_node_ips": "[\"%s\"]" % "\",\"".join(self.all_node_ips),
             # at the moment we are strict and enforce that all nodes are master eligible nodes
             "minimum_master_nodes": len(self.all_node_ips),
-            # We allow multiple nodes per host but we do not allow that they share their data directories
-            "node_count_per_host": 1,
             "install_root_path": self.es_home_path
         }
         variables = {}
@@ -404,7 +402,6 @@ def __init__(self, car, node_name, cluster_settings, ip, http_port, node_root_di
             "discovery_type": "single-node",
             "http_port": "%d-%d" % (self.http_port, self.http_port + 100),
             "transport_port": "%d-%d" % (self.http_port + 100, self.http_port + 200),
-            "node_count_per_host": 1,
             "cluster_settings": cluster_settings
         }
 
diff --git a/tests/mechanic/provisioner_test.py b/tests/mechanic/provisioner_test.py
index 5beebc0c6..a6075cf70 100644
--- a/tests/mechanic/provisioner_test.py
+++ b/tests/mechanic/provisioner_test.py
@@ -81,7 +81,6 @@ def null_apply_config(source_root_path, target_root_path, config_vars):
             "transport_port": "9300-9400",
             "all_node_ips": "[\"10.17.22.22\",\"10.17.22.23\"]",
             "minimum_master_nodes": 2,
-            "node_count_per_host": 1,
             "install_root_path": "/opt/elasticsearch-5.0.0"
         }, config_vars)
 
@@ -196,7 +195,6 @@ def null_apply_config(source_root_path, target_root_path, config_vars):
             "transport_port": "9300-9400",
             "all_node_ips": "[\"10.17.22.22\",\"10.17.22.23\"]",
             "minimum_master_nodes": 2,
-            "node_count_per_host": 1,
             "install_root_path": "/opt/elasticsearch-5.0.0",
             "plugin_name": "x-pack-security",
             "xpack_security_enabled": True
@@ -274,7 +272,6 @@ def null_apply_config(source_root_path, target_root_path, config_vars):
             "transport_port": "9300-9400",
             "all_node_ips": "[\"10.17.22.22\",\"10.17.22.23\"]",
             "minimum_master_nodes": 2,
-            "node_count_per_host": 1,
             "install_root_path": "/opt/elasticsearch-6.3.0",
             "plugin_name": "x-pack-security",
             "xpack_security_enabled": True
@@ -365,7 +362,6 @@ def test_prepare_default_data_paths(self, mock_rm, mock_ensure_dir, mock_decompr
             "transport_port": "9300-9400",
             "all_node_ips": "[\"10.17.22.22\",\"10.17.22.23\"]",
             "minimum_master_nodes": 2,
-            "node_count_per_host": 1,
             "install_root_path": "/install/elasticsearch-5.0.0-SNAPSHOT"
         }, installer.variables)
 
@@ -402,7 +398,6 @@ def test_prepare_user_provided_data_path(self, mock_rm, mock_ensure_dir, mock_de
             "transport_port": "9300-9400",
             "all_node_ips": "[\"10.17.22.22\",\"10.17.22.23\"]",
             "minimum_master_nodes": 2,
-            "node_count_per_host": 1,
             "install_root_path": "/install/elasticsearch-5.0.0-SNAPSHOT"
         }, installer.variables)
 
@@ -566,7 +561,6 @@ def test_provisioning_with_defaults(self, uuid4):
             "network_host": "0.0.0.0",
             "http_port": "39200-39300",
             "transport_port": "39300-39400",
-            "node_count_per_host": 1,
             "cluster_settings": {
                 "indices.query.bool.max_clause_count": 5000
             },