A pair of MG specials built and raced by Le Mans 24 Hours legend Ken Miles will be showcased at the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 16, 2026 – more than seven decades after they competed in the Pebble Beach Road Races with Miles at the wheel.
The MG R1 and R2 ‘Flying Shingle’ will join approximately 20 other cars that once raced at Pebble Beach on the 18th Fairway. The race cars will be split across two classes, for near-original factory racers and for heavily modified specials.
The special classes honour the Concours’ shared history with the Pebble Beach Road Races – both of which were first held in 1950. The races were run on a tree-lined course through California’s Del Monte Forest and attracted many of the era’s most iconic drivers, including Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, Richie Ginther and, of course, Miles himself.
Born in Birmingham, England in 1918, Miles made his US racing debut in an MG TD at Pebble Beach in 1952 but was disqualified after brake failure. He returned in ’53 with his first special, the MG R1, whose lightweight tubular-frame design dominated the under-1500cc class. The car secured 12 wins in total before a blown engine ended its career at Pebble Beach in 1954.
The R1’s successor – the R2 – used a cutting-edge spaceframe chassis fabricated from one-inch steel tubing, clad in a low, streamlined body that earned it the ‘Flying Shingle’ nickname. It was powered by a heavily modified MG TF four-cylinder engine. The R2 went on to win the 1955 Pebble Beach Cup for modified cars under 1500cc and finished third overall.
Miles’ exploits at Pebble Beach formed just one chapter of the venue’s remarkable early history. The story of the Pebble Beach Road Races – and Ken’s role in them – is explored in depth by Marcus Bicknell in Magneto issue 31, available here.
In many ways, the Ken Miles MG specials foreshadowed his success as a development driver for Shelby American, where he helped turn the GT40 into a Le Mans winner – even if the staged 1-2-3 finish at La Sarthe in 1966 deprived him of the overall victory.
The three GT40s were reunited at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, ascending the hill in their 1966 finishing order and driven by Mario, Marco and Michael Andretti.
For tickets and further information about the 2026 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, click here.
