The Final Miglia
Written by Kaitlin Hill and Chris Bernard
Photos by Michael Butcher
“What do you want to do with the time you have left?” The question indicates something inevitable yet uncertain — a difficult road with unknown mileage. When Middleburg’s Chris Bernard asked his father, Paul, this question, mileage was the last thing on his mind. But as it turns out, it was at the top of Paul’s.
“I really want to try to finish the car,” Paul said, referring to the 1965 Shelby Cobra replica kit sitting in the garage. Chris shares, “It’s the most beautiful American car ever made, and something we’ve talked about for a million years — since I was a kid. But it never went anywhere.”
It’s not as though anyone needs a good reason not to build a classic kit car, but over the years, things certainly got in the way. “My mom was really sick when I was younger,” Chris recalls. “When I was 8, she was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer and had to go through years of treatment. So at that time, [my dad] was doing a lot of caregiving for her, all while working full time and raising me.” He continues, “He’s also done a lot of caregiving for his mom in the recent years. He’s never really had a lot of time to focus on something for himself.”
However, the fire was reignited years later when Chris, who serves as the vice mayor of Middleburg, had the chance to participate in the Mille Miglia USA Warm-Up and invited his dad to attend the week’s festivities. Paul “was really hyped up about it and … we were talking with one of my buddies who builds classic car engines.” Chris adds, “We kicked it around a bit, and a few months later, [my dad] emails me a receipt and says, ‘I bought the kit.’”
“It’s something we’ve talked about for a million years — since I was a kid.” –Chris Bernard
In June of 2024, just after Middleburg Day, they received the delivery of a Factory Five Mark IV Roadster kit. “There’s thousands of parts — bolts, the seats, the windshield, wires, tires, big things, little things,” Chris says. “And then you just start cracking at it.”
He shares, “We had been chipping away at it; we probably did about 10%. Then, over the winter, my dad got sick.”
The diagnosis was an abdominal tumor that had found its way into his bones. Some very tough decisions followed. “He did a few months of chemo … but his follow-up scan showed more growth and spreading. The feedback was that further treatment was extremely unlikely to work and would really diminish his quality of life.”
When given the choice, Chris remembers his father saying, “I don’t want to do the chemo. If I only have a certain amount of time, I guess we’ll see how this goes and enjoy what’s left.” And when asked how he wanted to spend that time, “He said, ‘I just really want to work on the car,’” Chris recalls.
With neither of them being an expert mechanic and no time to learn “on the job,” Chris kicked into high gear and got to work. He had to source an engine, transmission, and some other components, but the real key was finding a specialist to join the project and help expedite the process. “Thank goodness we found Brendan. He and his dad help people with these builds, specifically from these kits. He’s built hundreds of them, and when I called and explained our situation, they knew exactly what to do.” Brendan would become like part of the family. “He came down to help build the car, ended up staying at the house for two weeks, and was even there for my birthday dinner,” Chris laughs. “We never would have gotten halfway through without him.”
When asked if any life lessons resulted from the process of building a car with his father, Chris shares lovingly with a laugh, “The one thing I learned during the process is that [my dad] and I really shouldn’t do projects together.” He continues, “We have a great relationship. We see each other all the time, we talk on the phone, he comes to my office, and we go out to lunch. I’m so glad we did it, but putting the car together was frustrating at times.”
He concludes, “But we knew what we had to do, we stuck to it, and we figured it out.”
Certainly, that is one of life’s most important lessons. And from his time in the garage, Chris offers a few more when reflecting on his relationship with his dad and his son, Maverick. “My dad is a huge role model for me. I watched how he took on every challenge that got thrown at him and he handled it.” Chris continues, “If I could teach Maverick one thing, it’s that you can do hard things, and they don’t have to be the negative ones. You just have to be creative enough and dream big enough to have the idea, realize you can follow through, and do it.”
“My dad is a huge role model for me. I watched how he took on every challenge that got thrown at him and he handled it.” –Chris Bernard
Finally, Chris reflects on a big takeaway from his experience with both parents: “Don’t assume that you’ll get to things later or that you’ll have time, because you might not. You want to be able to do things that are important and special to you, and share them with the ones you care about, and we can’t control everything along the way.”
While a car like this is a living, breathing project that will never be “done,” Chris and his dad have completed the initial build. It still needs professional finish work (body and paint) and an official VIN, but they achieved their goal of firing up the engine and taking it for a spin. ML
Published in the November 2025 issue of Middleburg Life.