Ken Miles Original 1963 Dolphin America Race Car Body Owned by Otto Zipper


Ken Miles Original 1963 Dolphin America Race Car Body Owned by Otto Zipper

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Ken Miles Original 1963 Dolphin America Race Car Body Owned by Otto Zipper:
$50000.00


Hey Guys
I am a custom car builder and indie film maker in California. I spent 7 years working on my feature film "Vector: America's First Supercar" which is now available to watch on Amazon Prime.
During my research I found the ORIGINAL 1963 Dolphin America race car owned by Otto Zipper and driven by Ken Miles. It was also used as the base for the very first Vector prototype in 1972. It was missing for 60 years.
I really do not want to sell the body but I spent all my money making the Vector film. This listing is for the Dolphin BODY ONLY. I do not have the original Porsche engine or chassis. The engine disappeared when Gerald Wiegert and Lee Brown were taking the Dolphin apart to create the first Vector mock up in 1972. Supposedly the restored chassis with a new body is in Germany for $3M and claims to be authentic but has no history before 1990.
THIS is the original fiberglass body from Ken Miles' Dolphin America race car from 1963 with original paint. You can also see where the Porsche badge used to be under the Dolphin badge on the nose. The extended windshield and original "Precision Motor Cars Beverly Hills" are still visible. You can also see the circle where the car number was on the "hood" and where the SCCA sticker used to be on the front fender. I believe the rear end also had the "PORSCHE" letters from a 356 at one time and you can see where the mounting holes for the letters used to be.
THIS is the body that people copied to make the replica Ken Miles Dolphins that are scattered around the globe.
This is an absolutely amazing one of a kind piece of Ken Miles, Porsche, Otto Zipper, SCCA, Vector and auto racing history!
Inspections are available by appointment.
Thank you for looking. Cheers!"Ken Miles' Dolphin Race Car Found After Missing 60 Years"
San Diego -Racing legend Ken Miles' Dolphin race car body has been found after going missing in the 1960's. It was found in a backyard shed in San Diego by custom car builder and independent film maker Shannon Wafford. The Dolphin race car, built in El Cajon, CA in 1963, was owned by Otto Zipper of Porsche, Alfa and Ferrari fame and driven by Ken Miles before he joined Carroll Shelby. Miles' Dolphin was a joint effort and the only Dolphin built with a Porsche 4 cam RS engine.
After Ken Miles left and partnered with Carroll Shelby the Dolphin was parked. In 1971 the SCCA race car was purchased by Lee Brown a former racing buddy of Miles'. It had been left behind a gas station on Hollywood Blvd. down the street from Lee Brown's European Auto repair shop. Lee used the chassis to build a rolling mock up of a new "supercar" he was creating with automotive designer Gerald Wiegert. Their new creation became the very first "Vector" which became known to the creators as the "W1." It made its debut and hit the car show circuit in 1972.
Since the Vector was built on an old SCCA race car chassis and could not be steered or moved easily the entire car, body and chassis, was cut into three pieces - front, middle and rear. The three sections had casters underneath and could be easily wheeled into convention halls and clipped together to resemble a complete new sports car.
When Brown and Wiegert went their separate ways the car was abandoned. Reportedly, the chassis was restored with a new body and engine in Michigan and was bought by a collector in the UK or Germany. The original Ken Miles fiberglass body had been taken off before the Vector body was built and its whereabouts were unknown.
In 2020 custom car builder and independent film maker Shannon Wafford was researching Vector for his upcoming documentary film "Vector: America's First Supercar" when he met Dolphin race car driver and historian Phil Binks. When Wafford told Binks the story of the first Vector prototype Binks said, "I know who restored the chassis and I knew it was cut into pieces and welded back together. I never knew why until you just told me the story!" After confirming the Vector story of Ken's car being cut into sections, Binks also said he knew who had the original Dolphin body.
In March 2024 Wafford returned to the home of Binks when he heard of his passing away two years earlier. While talking with Binks' family they reported that the man who had Ken Miles' original fiberglass Dolphin race car body had also passed away and they were in possession of it. Mr. Wafford went to the back yard and found the car that had been missing roughly 60 years sitting in a shed.
"Vector: America's First Supercar" is currently in post production and should be released soon. Mr. Wafford says he has a lead on another famous sports car that has been missing since the 1960's. We can't tell you the details but his next film, also in post production, is called, "James Dean's Last Drive."- Mr. Shannon Wafford has been a custom car builder for over 35 years and independent film maker over 30 years.

Ken Miles Original 1963 Dolphin America Race Car Body Owned by Otto Zipper:
$50000.00

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