Norman Dewis

Norman Dewis (born 1920) was chief test driver and development engineer for Jaguar Cars from 1952 to 1985.

Car development

Dewis took a major role 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 October 20, 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 fighter aircraft. After the record run was converted back to a road car and sold by the company.

XJ13 crash

On 21 January 1971 at the MIRA high-speed circuit Dewis drove the only Jaguar XJ13 for a film promotiing the new V12 Jaguar E-type. Despite a damaged tyre, and against the instructions of Jaguar's Race Director "Lofty" England, the car was driven by Dewis at high speed. The tyre failed and the car crashed heavily, almost destroying it. Dewis was unharmed. The wreck of the car was put back into storage.^[1]

Work for Jaguar in retirement

In 2014 Dewis was still attending events related to Jaguar and giving talks about his work for the company.

OBE

In the 2015 New Year Honours Dewis was awarded an OBE for services to the Motor Industry.^[2]^[3]