Ken Miles

Many of the cars he drove – and in fact helped develop – are among the best known and most recognized racecars in motorsport history, names like the Shelby Cobra, Ford GT40, Sunbeam Tiger and Porsche Spyder, just to name a few. Yet, the contributions of Ken Miles to postwar racing have been all but overlooked by history.

Ken Miles, at the wheel of his first R-1 MG special, enroute to victory at Reeves Field, Long Beach in 1953. Miles designed and built the car himself using a mild steel ladder frame and modified Morris Minor front suspension and steering. At the time, MG was attempting to break several speed records at Bonneville, which resulted in Miles obtaining a special factory block that featured a larger than normal 72 mm bore.
Photo: Jim Sitz

“One of his great strengths as a driver was his ability to focus. He took racing very seriously… it was the most important thing in his life. Also, he was very mechanically oriented, which I think was more of an asset back then.” John Morton

Ken MilesÕ last race in his ÒFlying ShingleÓ R-2 Special at Torrey Pines on Oct. 23, 1955. By the end of 1953, the R-1 was having difficulty in keeping ahead of the Porsche and OSCA opposition. The overstressed MG engine couldnÕt yield any more power, so Miles chose to make a lighter car to increase his chances. The result was the R-2 ÒFlying Shingle,Ó which featured a tubular space frame and low center of gravity. Though the R-2 won its debut race, Miles struggled all year long with the very fast ÒPooperÓ of Pete Lovely.
Photo: Jim Sitz

Born in Sutton Coldfield, England, in 1918, Ken Miles showed proficiency for things mechanical at an early age. After World War II, where he served as a sergeant in a British armored tank regiment, Miles began constructing a Mercury-powered Frazer Nash “Chain Gang” special. Unfortunately, with little success to show for his efforts, by 1952, Miles’ racing exploits had pushed his and his new family’s fortunes to the brink of ruin. As a result, he took an offer from a military friend to move to California and become the service manager for Gough Industries, a West Coast MG distributor.

Ken Miles was likely one of the most successful Porsche Spyder drivers of the era, with 38 wins out of 44 starts. Here, he is seen sliding his RSK through turn 8 at Riverside Raceway during the 1961 Times Grand Prix.
Photo: Bob Tronolone

“Miles was a real physical fitness nut. He was way ahead of his time… nobody back then did that stuff. Even on race weekends he’d want to get up and run 5 miles, but nobody except me would run with him. Everyone thought he was crazy.” John Morton

MilesÕ career also included a number of Porsche-powered specials. After selling his R-2, he drove a number of cars for West Coast Porsche importer John von Neumann. One of these racecars was a Porsche-powered Cooper Bobtail, seen here at Paramount Ranch in 1956. Miles was so competitive in the Porsche-powered Cooper that it was rumored the Porsche factory tried to pressure he and von Neumann into retiring the car, so as not to make the factory cars look bad.
Photo: Allen Kuhn

However, the change of scenery and fortune couldn’t deter Miles’ competitive nature, and shortly after taking up his new position, he began racing again – now with a MG TD. Miles’ success with the TD soon convinced his employer to give him a number of parts (including a race motor out of one of the MG Land Speed Record cars) to build his own MG special, subsequently known as the R-1. Miles’ first race in the new special was at Pebble Beach in 1953 and commenced his virtual domination of the class that year, including 8 wins in 10 starts.

Miles, in a Larry Reed-sponsored Sunbeam Alpine (#50), fights off the Alpines of Willie West (#63) and Lew Spencer (#45).
Photo: Allen Kuhn

“One thing that always impressed me about him was that he never showed any fear. He would have these huge, hair-raising spins and accidents and they never seemed to bother him.” John Morton

Among the varied racecars that Ken Miles drove was this Jaguar D-Type during a 6-Hour enduro at the Pomona Fairgrounds on November 23, 1958.
Photo: Bob Tronolone

The following year, Miles created his second MG special affectionately known as the “Flying Shingle,” which featured a low-slung space frame, canted engine and flowing bodywork. Very quickly Miles’ successes with the two MG specials had propelled him to the top of the burgeoning West Coast road racing scene. He raced a wide variety of cars during the following decade, but one of his most successful racing relationships of the period was with the Competition Motors team of Otto Zipper and Bob Estes. From the mid-’50s to early-’60s, Miles drove a variety of Porsche Spyders and Porsche-powered racecars for the Zipper team, resulting in an astounding record of 38 wins out of 44 starts. But it was only a matter of time before Carroll Shelby began to see the potential of having a great racing driver, who was also a savvy engineer, as part of his new Shelby American racing team.

Miles drove Chuck ParsonÕs unusual Buick V-8-powered Mercedes SLS (the extra ÒSÓ stood for scrap yard, because that is where Parson discovered the car), in a 1960 SCCA regional race in Santa Barbara.
Photo: Bob Tronolone

“He had a good sense of humor, but I’m sure he wasn’t the easiest guy to live with. I think people respected him more than they liked him.” John Morton

Miles at the wheel of the Otto Zipper-owned, Porsche-powered Dolphin sports racer at Pomona in 1963.
Photo: Allen Kuhn

From 1963-1966, Miles came into full blossom at Shelby’s (despite being now in his mid-40s). Miles racked up success after success, first with the new Cobra and then with the Ford GT40 project. In 1965, Miles and codriver Lloyd Ruby drove the GT40 to its maiden victory in a 2000-km endurance race at Daytona. Later that year, Miles was paired up with Bruce McLaren for the 12-Hours of Sebring, where the duo finished second overall. The following year, 1966, would prove to be both the best of Miles’ career and, tragically, his last.

After winning the 24-Hours of Daytona and the 12-Hours of Sebring in 1966, Ken Miles seemed poised to endurance racingÕs great triple-crown, if he could win at Le Mans. Teamed with codriver Denny Hulme, the pair led 23 of 24 hours and looked assured of victory at the Sarthe. However, in one of the greatest foul-ups in motorsport history, the Ford brass insisted that the top three finishing GT 40s complete the last lap together for a 1-2-3 photograph. In so doing, Miles and Hulme crossed the finish line just ahead of the second place car of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. Unfortunately, what no one had realized was that the organizers calculated the winner based on total distance covered, and since the Miles/Hulme car started 20 feet ahead on the starting line, they would have to be more than 20 feet ahead at the finish to win. As this photo demonstrates, they finished nearly side-by-side and the victory was ironically awarded to McLaren and Amon. According to Morton, ÒMiles was really pissed off about Le Mans… I donÕt know that he ever really got over it.Ó

“I don’t think he cared, particularly, whether he was well liked.” John Morton

Sebring, 1964. After destroying the front end of his prototype 427 Cobra on a tree during practice, Miles, codriver John Morton (wearing glasses) and several Shelby Crew members spent the next 48 hours pounding out the bodywork and rebuilding the front end in time for the race.
Photo: Dave Friedman

The year started off on a high note with him and Lloyd Ruby driving their GT40 Mk II to victory in the 24-Hours of Daytona. The winning pair then went on to win the 12-Hours of Sebring a month later. However, while testing the Ford J-car prototype at Riverside Raceway on August 17, a mechanical failure (believed to be a failure in the experimental honeycomb monocoque) caused the car to lose control, veer down an embankment and literally disintegrate, hurling Miles from the cockpit to his death.

Miles was instrumental in both the development and the on-track success of the Shelby Cobras. Here, he is seen taking the checkered flag and the win at Riverside in 1963.
Photo: Allen Kuhn

“There was only one tree at Sebring… and in 1964, he found it in the Cobra. After that, some of the guys on the team started calling him ‘Teddy Tree-bagger’.” John Morton

The remarkable career of Ken Miles – oftentimes referred to as “Teddy Teabagger” due to his insistence for tea at the track – has by and large been given short shrift compared to many of his contemporaries. To this day, his overall win record stands as one of the best in sports car racing. Yet, if little has been remembered about his achievements, even less has been remembered about the man himself.

Known as ÒTeddy Teabagger,Ó Miles was always the quintessential British expatriate, as evidenced by his garb seen here at Laguna Seca in 1963, where he is chatting with Augie Pabst (left) and Phil Hill (left of Pabst). According to Morton, ÒWithin the Shelby team, he also had the nickname ÔSide Bite,Õ partly because of his sideways driving style and partly because he often spoke out of the side of his mouth!Ó

In 1964, while working on the Cobra project, Miles befriended a young kid trying to become a racecar driver – that kid was future SCCA and Trans-Am champion John Morton. On the following pages, some of Morton’s thoughts and impressions of Miles accompany a pictorial tribute to Ken Miles’ diverse career.

Text by Casey Annis