Where Is Ken Miles' Son Now? The Story After Ford V Ferrari

Ken Miles was the favored driver of Carroll Shelby, who told the Los Angeles Times, "Ken was the greatest test driver in the world." Shelby himself was one of America's most storied racing drivers, and as a manufacturer he created the AC Cobra. The legendary Ken Miles was the short-tempered hero who put the Ford GT40 through its paces in its early years of development, as wonderfully portrayed by Christian Bale in the "Ford V Ferrari" film. 

While the name Peter Miles isn't as widely celebrated that of Ken Miles, Peter is also an interesting character. He's Ken's son, and is seen throughout the film as a young boy. Toward the end of the film, Ken's tragic death is shown when testing a developmental GT — a crash Peter witnessed.

Peter didn't follow in his father's footsteps and become a racing driver, but fuel still runs through his veins. A fan of F1 and vintage motorsports, Peter was happy to help when it came to helping his father's story be told as accurately as possible in the highly acclaimed  movie. He told 24h Le Mans, "I gave Christian Bale info about my dad from press clippings and magazine articles, and I showed him personal photos and shared audio recordings with him." While Peter hasn't enjoyed a racing career as high-profile as his father's, he has forged a career in the industry, working alongside off-road racers, car collectors, and even Shelby American, Carroll Shelby's car company. 

Peter Miles was young when his father died, just shy of age 15. In the decades since, and before helping the production team with "Ford V Ferrari," Peter has largely steered clear of racetracks, but he's never ventured too far from cars. At one point, he was working as a crew chief for Ivan "Ironman" Stewart , the prolific off-road racer with a three-decade affiliation with Toyota. Peter also helped oversee the development of 10 limited-edition 427-powered Cobra replicas designed to commemorate his father. These Cobras were built as exact replicas of Ken's original '65 model, CSX 3002.

Clearly no stranger to high-performance and desirable cars, Peter also secured the position of executive administrator to William E. Connor II's car collection, reportedly worth over $80 million. Among the cars in the collection is a 250 GTO, so there's no reason to doubt that estimation, as the 250 GTO was once the most expensive vehicle to ever sell at auction, fetching $48.4 million in 2018. While not usually the guy behind the wheel, in 2021 Peter got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relive one of his father's experiences, which saw him take to one of America's most iconic tracks in a limited version of Ford's flagship supercar.

In 1966 Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby won the Daytona 24 Hour Continental in a Ford GT40. The GT40 in question was the number 98 car, predominantly white with black and red detailing. Five decades later, Ford re-created this historic moment by securing back-to-back victories at Daytona, so naturally, the Blue Oval brand wanted to celebrate.

We say naturally, because it's clear that Ford loves its heritage. Reviving old nameplates like the Bronco, Capri, and GT is perfect evidence of this, but the automaker went above and beyond in celebrating its Daytona achievement. It created a special edition of the GT, the 2021 GT Heritage Edition, in a color scheme that paid homage to the '66 car Miles piloted to victory. And when it came to testing it out, there was one man at the top of Ford's list.

That man was Peter Miles. He got into the car with Joey Hand, a professional driver who helped develop the new GT. Hand showed Miles the ropes with some hot laps in it before handing over the keys and wheel to Miles. It was a touching moment for Miles, who described piloting the number 98 car around Daytona as a sort of reconnecting with his father. He was also impressed by the GT's capabilities and no-compromise approach, telling Ford Racing there was "no superfluous junk" to be found anywhere on the car. No doubt a memory he cherishes.