| Net Worth: | $125 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Sports car racing engineer |
| Date of Birth: | November 1, 1918 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5′ 8″ |
About Ken Miles
In spite of certain reliability issues, the Ford J-car had shown that it has the potential to be the successor to the Ford GT40 Mk II. Testing took place throughout the springtime at the Le Mans 24 Hours. After Walt Hansgen was killed in April while testing a J-car during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a J-car, Ford made the decision to abandon the J-car in favor of the more reliable Mk IIs.
During the remaining races of the 1966 World Sports Car Championship season, there was very little advancement done. In August of 1966, Shelby American got back to work on their research and development, with Miles serving as their chief test driver. The J-car included a breadvan-shaped rear portion that was an experiment with Kammback aerodynamic theories. Additionally, the J-car had a honeycomb panel design that was designed to both lighten and stiffen the car, although the design had not been verified with high-speed prototype sports cars.
After spending nearly a day conducting tests at Riverside International Raceway in the scorching desert of Southern California, Miles was approaching the end of the track’s one-mile (1.6 km) downhill back straight at top speed – over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) – when the car suddenly looped, flipped, crashed, and caught fire. The accident occurred as Miles was approaching the finish line. Miles was thrown from the wreckage of the car, which resulted in his instantaneous death. In 2001, Miles’s legacy was honored with a posthumous induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
On November 1st, 1918, Miles was born in Sutton Coldfield, which was located in Warwickshire at the time but is now within the city of Birmingham. Eric Miles and Clarice Jarvis were his parents, and he was their son.
After an unsuccessful attempt to elude capture and make his way to the United States, Miles dropped out of school at the age of 15 to begin working as an apprentice for Wolseley Motors. Wolseley Motors then paid for him to attend a technical school so that he could increase his understanding of the various aspects of vehicle construction.
Prior to enlisting in the British Army during World War II, he competed in motorcycle racing. After the war, Miles competed in races with the Vintage Sports Car Club, driving cars such as Bugattis, Alfa Romeos, and Alvises. After that, he decided to go with a Ford V8 Frazer-Nash. In the year 1952, Miles relocated from England to the United States, ultimately settling in Los Angeles, California, where he worked as a service manager for Gough Industries, the MG distributor for Southern California. In 1953, he drove an MG-based special of his own design and manufacture to a string of 14 consecutive victories in the SCCA racing series.
It was known as the “Flying Shingle” and it was the second special vehicle that he had designed, built, and raced during the 1955 season. Both vehicles were based on MG components. It competed in the SCCA F modified class on the west coast and achieved a great deal of success there. Late in the month of March, Miles competed in the “Flying Shingle” event held at Palm Springs. He finished first overall, beating over veteran driver Cy Yedor, who was also driving an MG Special, and novice driver James Dean, who was driving a Porsche 356 Speedster.
Later on, Miles was penalized for a technical infraction because his fenders were too broad. This opened the door for Yedor and Dean to be “bumped up” to first and second place, respectively. Throughout the year 1956, Miles competed in the most of the Cal Club and SCCA events driving John von Neumann’s Porsche 550 Spyder.
For the 1957 season, Miles devised the installation of a Porsche 550S engine and transmission in a 1956 Cooper chassis and body in collaboration with Otto Zipper. This modification was done for the Cooper. The first successful race car to be known on the West Coast as “the Pooper” was a Cooper chassis and body from the early 1950s powered by a Porsche 356 power train. It was built and campaigned by Pete Lovely of Tacoma, Washington. The second successful race car to be known as “the Pooper” was a Porsche 917. With Miles behind the wheel, the resulting vehicle dominated the F Modified class of the SCCA on the west coast during both the 1957 and 1958 racing seasons.
In 1963, he was promoted to the position of head test driver at Shelby-American. Miles was known for his “reputation for courtesy on the track” and was dubbed “Stirling Moss of the West Coast” at various points in his career. At the 1964 Player’s 200, which took place at Mosport, Miles competed in a Lotus 23 while he was a member of the AC-Cobra Ford Team.
In the movie Ford v Ferrari Ken Miller is portrayed by Christian Bale.
During the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965, he competed in a Ford GT Mk II alongside Bruce McLaren but was forced to withdraw due to gearbox issues. At an earlier point in the year, he had finished in second place at the 12 Hours of Sebring while driving for McLaren.
The next year, he was victorious in both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona. He shared the victory in the Ford GT Mk II with Lloyd Ruby. A few months later, Miles was leading the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans in the #1 car while sharing the driving duties with Denny Hulme. However, an executive from Ford Motor Company named Leo Beebe wanted a publicity photo of three of Ford’s cars crossing the finish line together, so he instructed Miles to slow down, and Miles complied with the request.
