Ken Miles’s MG Special R1 is a defining example of post-war American road-racing ingenuity and the earliest expression of Ken Miles’ engineering brilliance. Designed and built in California, R1 was created with one goal: to defeat the Barlow Simca Specials and the faster MG Specials dominating the 1500cc and Under class larger, through balance, lightness, and intelligent design.
Miles constructed the MG Special R1 race car in 1952/3 while working for Gough Industries1. He had been racing stock MG TDs for them, but they were often outclassed by the competition. Gough helped Miles create the racer. Ken Miles, Lorentz Melvold and Arne Bjorkli were paid to build the car (and to build R2) at Gough Industries. The components and the car(s) therefore belonged to the company, but Gough Industries declined to contribute cash. What Gough did provide was the use of any MG or Morris stock spare part.
Using MG mechanical components, Miles engineered his own lightweight mild steel oval tube chassis and kept the center of gravity exceptionally low, an advanced concept for the period and one that became central to his later success. He attached MG Series Y independent front suspension and a live axle at the rear. Alfin aluminum drum brakes with two wheel cylinders were used to provide the stopping power while a Morris Minor rack-and-pinion for steering. Under the hood was an early 1496cc (probably race-prepared) engine supplied to Gough by the MG factory in England. This engine type would later be used by MG for their production MG TF 1500. The engine had twin SU carburetors and a 10.5:1 compression ratio, later increased to 11.6:1. The 83 horsepower engine was mated to a stock MG TD transmission. The car had a hand-formed aluminum body and an overall weight less than 1,230 pounds.
The car’s appearance is strictly purposeful. Its narrow, low-slung body is shaped entirely by function, with no decorative elements of any kind. Built on a modest budget, R1 proved extraordinarily competitive. The car made its inaugural appearance in 1953 at a rainy Pebble Beach. The car had not been tested but this did not seem to matter, as it emerged victorious. Throughout the next year, the car would win all of the races it was entered, except for two.
Through the end of the 1954 season, the car competed in 24 races, earning 12 victories and 19 podium finishes, including a win at the Pebble Beach Road Races, where Miles’ precision driving and the car’s superior handling were particularly effective. Miles raced R1 at the Pebble Beach Road Races in 1953 (1st. Pebble Beach Cup) and 1954 (DNF after leading for 27 laps Pebble Beach Cup). His last race in the car was at Pebble Beach in 1954 when it suffered mechanical difficulties and failed to finish the race. The flywheel bolts fractured which allowed the flywheel to come loose. This resulted in the engine over-revving and it threw a rod.
After Pebble Beach in April of 1954 Miles sold the car to Cy Yedor (Vernon, CA). The unique engine and the MG TC gearbox were removed and installed in the new MG Special R2 that Gough Industries had Miles and the two other employees build when the new MG TF production model came out. So R1 was sold to Cy Yedor as a roller, i.e. a complete car without the engine; Bud Hand built the replacement motor for Yedor. R2 is the subject of a a similar article on this web site at https://dmtrg.com/ken-miles-mg-special-r2/. Yedor raced R1 at the 1955 Pebble Beach Road Races and placed 3rd behind Miles in R2 and Chic Leson in his OSCA MT-4 in the Pebble Beach Cup.
When Yedor sold R1 it passed through several careful owners before being restored to its final period configuration. In 1979, the car achieved renewed recognition with a class win at the Monterey Historic Races and was subsequently invited to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it received top race car honors. Having participated in Pebble Beach’s 50th Anniversary, the return of Ken Miles’ MG Special R1 for the 75th Anniversary is especially fitting. It represents the ingenuity, craftsmanship, and competitive spirit that define Pebble Beach, and it stands as a meaningful link between the event’s history, its present celebration, and the hope of returning again for the 100th Anniversary.
The owners of the MG Special R1:
. Ken Miles 1953-1954
. Cy Yedor 1954-56
. Dusty Miller 1950-1979
. Nels Miller 1979-1980
. Ken Maytag 1980-1983
. Pat Hart 1983 -2001
. Glenn Hart 2001
Read about Ken Miles’s next creation, the MG Special R2, The Flying Shingle at https://dmtrg.com/ken-miles-mg-special-r2/
Read about Ken Miles’s life on this web site at https://dmtrg.com/ken-miles/
Read about Paul House’s collection of models of all the cars driven by Ken Miles at https://dmtrg.com/ken-miles-in-miniature/ (photo below, right)
This article was compiled and written by Marcus Bicknell
in April 2026 with well-informed factual editing from Rob Manson.
- In the 1950s, Gough Industries Inc. operated as a major distributor and dealership for British Motor Corporation (BMC) vehicles in Southern California. Based in the Los Angeles area, they played a significant role in importing and distributing marques like MG and Austin-Healey during the British car boom in the United States. ↩︎