Norman Dewis
Norman Dewis | |
---|---|
Born | Coventry, Warwickshire, England | 3 August 1920
Died | 8 June 2019 | (aged 98)
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Chief test driver and development engineer |
Children | 2 |
Norman Dewis
Car development
Dewis participated in the development of the following cars:
- Jaguar XK140
- Jaguar XK150
- Jaguar C-type
- Jaguar D-type
- Jaguar Mark VIII
- Jaguar Mark IX
- Jaguar Mark II
- Jaguar E-type
- Jaguar XJ13
- Jaguar Mark X
- Jaguar XJ6
- Jaguar XJ-S
- Jaguar XJ40
Racing career
Dewis drove a Jaguar D-Type in the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Don Beauman. The car failed to finish the race, retiring 106 laps into the race.
Jabbeke XK120 record
Dewis was the test driver who, on 20 October 1953 at Jabbeke, Belgium, drove a Jaguar XK120 to 172.412 mph, a record for production cars. The car had several aerodynamic modifications, including a distinctive bubble-shaped, air-tight canopy from a glider aircraft. After the record run the Jaguar XK120 was converted back to a road car and sold by the company.
XJ13 crash
On 21 January 1971 at the
Work for Jaguar in retirement
In 2014 Dewis was still attending events related to Jaguar and giving talks about his work for the company. In June 2016 he appeared on the BBC's Top Gear TV show with the Jaguar F-type SVR.
Norman was also a supporter of Jaguar owners and the social scene around owning a car. He was a regular attendee at many of the events held by the Jaguar Drivers' Club, the only Jaguar owners club to be officially recognised by Sir William Lyons and Jaguar as a company.
Honours
In the
References
- ^ "Former Jaguar engineering chief Norman Dewis dies aged 98". www.autocar.co.uk. Autocar. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ "Jaguar legend to give talk at cancer event". Isle of Man Today. 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "David Hobbs - Jaguar XJ13's Test Driver". UK. 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016.
- ^ "New Year Honours: Ex-Jaguar test driver, 94, appointed OBE". BBC News. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/391413/New_Year_Honours_List_2015.pdf [bare URL PDF]