Lookers Jaguar West London are delighted to invite you to meet Jaguar test driver extraordinaire Norman Dewis OBE, who tested and developed 25 Jaguar models. Norman, now aged 96, was chief test driver and development engineer for Jaguar Cars from 1952 to 1985.
Come along to our unique event to hear a story both of personal achievement and of a heroic period in Jaguar’s history. In a career spanning 33 years at Jaguar, Norman Dewis tested and developed a remarkable series of cars including C-TYPE, D TYPE, E-TYPE, XJ13, XJ40.
Norman also rode with Stirling Moss in a C-type in the 1952 Mille Miglia, drove a 190mph works D-type in the highly dramatic 1955 Le Mans, raced in the Goodwood 9 Hours, and set an amazing 173 mph production car record at Jabbeke in Belgium with an XK 120. Completing over a million test miles at 100mph-plus average, Norman also played a crucial role developing the revolutionary Dunlop disc brake, and survived high-speed crashes and rollovers in the days before seat-belts – and without ever breaking a single bone.
Norman has travelled the world enthralling enthusiasts with his stories of test-driving and racing Jaguars. In 2014 his contribution to the British motor industry was finally recognised nationally when he was awarded the OBE, a tribute to his unstinting efforts.
