Ken Wharton was born in April 1916 and first competed at the age of 19, at Donington Park, in an Austin. Motorsport ceased during the war, but at the earliest opportunity Ken entered whatever competitive events were available. He was a motor engineer, owned a Ford Dealership in Birmingham, and was able to design and build his own “specials” employing an Austin Seven chassis powered by Ford or MG engines. Ken fitted a highly tuned BSA vertical twin engine to one of these Austin chassis with split axle front suspension and a light body, which when running correctly, was one of the fastest of the early 500s. Unfortunately the engine rarely ran right for very long and the project was abandoned.

Ken and his Cooper at Bo'ness, June 1951.

Hill Climbing was the discipline that Ken mastered, driving ERAs, Kiefts or Coopers, he won the RAC British Hillclimb Championship in 1951, 52, 53 and 54.

Ken also drove for BRM and, at the Easter 1953 meeting at Goodwood, he won the Richmond Trophy at an average of 90.47mph. The club's main championship trophy, which was donated by Ken's family, was the one he was awarded in the Albi Grand Prix when part of the BRM team.

In 1955 he was invited, with Mike Hawthorn, to drive for Vanwall which proved to be somewhat underdeveloped. On its first outing at Silverstone, Wharton's car crashed and he sustained burns and minor injuries. He also drove Ferrari and Maserati, mostly as a privateer.

At Prescott in 1956, Ken's Cooper in 1,100cc trim.

From an article in Motor Sport

Co-driving with Peter Whitehead, he won the 12-hour race at Rheims in a Jaguar in 1954 at an average of 104.5mph. It was in practice at another sports car meeting, in Auckland, New Zealand, on 12th January 1957, that Ken’s career was brought to a sudden end when his Ferrari hit a stanchion and somersaulted. Wharton was thrown from the car and died from his injuries.

An article by Ken published in Motor Sport December 1953