Kenneth Henry Jarvis Miles, better known as Ken Miles, was born in Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, England, on 1 November 1918. He left school at 15, preferring to work as an apprentice at Wolseley Motors. Here he acquired his first mechanical knowledge and, as he came of age, he began competing in motorcycling until the outbreak of the Second World War.
He joined the British Army and took part in Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied landings in Normandy. Miles served in His Majesty's Army in Northwest Europe until the end of the conflict. In 1946 he put down his weapons.
After the war Miles entered the world of racing, competing in his homeland with the most prestigious brands of the time such as Alfa Romeo, Bugatti and Alvis. In 1952 he decided to emigrate to the United States, specifically to Los Angeles, California. There he began to work as service manager for Gough Industries.
The following year he made his debut in American racing with Gough cars, winning 14 consecutive races in the Sports Car Club of America. In 1955, with an MG designed and built by himself, he competed in Palm Springs where he finished first, ahead of the veteran Cy Yedor and a novice driver, the actor James Dean, in his Porsche 356.
Miles, after the race, was disqualified because the car did not comply with the regulations; Yedor was proclaimed the winner with James Dean moving up to 2nd place. With the same car he competed for the first time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Event that saw him fifth at the finish line.
Given his driving and engineering skills, he was noticed by Carroll Shelby, a well-known American designer, driver and entrepreneur, and was hired as the official tester of the Shelby/Cobra.
Miles had a distinct British accent and was known for his sense of humor. His American colleagues affectionately nicknamed him “Teddy Teabag” for his love of tea.
Miles, thanks to the bond established with Shelby and his knowledge as an engineer, led to the development and success, in the American categories, of the Shelby Cobra 289, the Daytona Coupé and the Ford GT40.
In 1961 he was invited to compete in Formula 1 together with other local drivers in the last Grand Prix, the United States, at Watkins Glen.
Ken Miles: Ford v Ferrari: the great challenge
Henry Ford II, owner of the car company of the same name, tired of the repeated defeats at the hands of Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, decides to buy his bitter rival. The deal seemed to be done but at the last minute, Drake blew it all up having realized that Ford would also make decisions on the sporting side of his beloved creature. Signing an agreement with FIAT would instead have left him freedom of maneuver in the world of racing.
Angry at the defeat suffered in Italy, he calls Shelby and Miles back to him with the task of designing a car that could beat the Prancing Horse at Le Mans.
In 1965, in the French classic, Shelby American fielded the Ford GT Mk II, with Ken Miles and the New Zealand driver Bruce McLaren on board. It was a bitter edition for the American team: after 45 laps the car raised the white flag due to problems with the gearbox.
In the same year the Miles-McLaren duo took part in the 12 Hours of Sebring with the GT40 where they finished second. In 1966, with the Ford GT Mk II, he won by dominating the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring with the American driver Lloyd Ruby at his side.
The Ford GT Mk II, masterfully driven by Miles, seemed to be unbeatable and the 24 Hours of Le Mans was upon us.
Ken Miles: Le Mans '66: the sensational hoax
At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, dominated by the Ford GT Mk II n°1 driven by Ken Miles and the New Zealand driver Denny Hulme, one of the most controversial events in the history of this historic race occurred.
Miles, a few kilometers from victory, is ordered to slow down by Leo Beebee, member of Ford, to allow the twin cars of Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren, the n°2, and the n°5 of Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson to arrive in the parade to have a photo showcase of the three car for advertising reasons.
Miles, in his spontaneous naivety, accepted and slowed down. The three Fords thus arrive in parade, but the photo will be ruined because Amon and McLaren's car accelerated and crossed the finish line first.
After the race, the French commissioners pointed out that the Ford n°2, by regulation, had covered more meters than the Ford n°1, having started from behind, thus declaring it the winner.
For Miles, beyond the insult, there is insult. Due to an order from above he was not the first man in the history of motorsports to win the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Ken Miles: the tragic end
Two months after the bitter betrayal perpetrated by Ford at Le Mans, Ken Miles was called back as chief tester to test the Ford J-car, the natural successor to the GT40. Almost at the end of the day of testing, on August 17, 1966, at the Riverside International Raceway, a track in the Californian desert, Miles met his death.
Miles, after traveling along the straight at around 320km/h, lost control of the car which overturned numerous times and caught fire. The English pilot was thrown from the cockpit and died instantly. He was 47 years old. He left a wife and a son. He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the cemetery of the stars.
Carroll Shelby, shocked by the passing of his friend and colleague, continued to design and design for Ford, winning in the subsequent editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1967 to 1969, constantly beating the Ferraris.
Ken Miles: the tributes
Ken Miles was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001 and in 2020 he was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. In 2019, on the extraordinary story of that 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, the film “Ford v Ferrari” was released (in Italy it was distributed under the title “Le Mans '66: The Great Challenge”) by James Mangold.
Nominated for 4 Oscars, including best film, it won two statuettes for best editing and best sound editing. Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby were played by Oscar winners, the English actor Christian Bale and the American actor Matt Damon.