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Geoff Lawson, Director Styling

25 June 1999

Geoff Lawson, Director Styling

    MAHWAH, N.J., June 25 -- Jaguar Cars is deeply saddened to
announce the sudden death yesterday of Geoff Lawson, the company's Director,
Styling.  He died after being admitted to the hospital, having suffered a
stroke.  He was 54.
    Lawson was born in Leicester, England, in 1944.  He studied Design at
Leicester College of Art and subsequently took a master's degree in Furniture
Design at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London.  His thesis at the RCA was
on American cars, one of his lifelong passions.
    After graduating, he joined General Motors' British subsidiary, Vauxhall,
in 1969 as a Designer.  He subsequently worked on car and truck programs in
Europe and the United States for General Motors, progressing to Chief Designer
level.  He was appointed Jaguar's Director, Styling in 1984.
    As the company's top designer he was responsible for producing a highly
successful series of new Jaguars over the next 15 years.  These included the
XJ220, the new XJ6 and XJ8 sedans, the XK8 sports car and, most recently, the
new S-TYPE, all of which attracted design awards and achieved worldwide sales
success.  His successful designs were a highly influential factor in Jaguar's
transformation during the 1990's.  During this period, he also led a major
expansion in Jaguar's styling resources and facilities at the company's
Whitley Engineering Center.
    Michael H. Dale, President, Jaguar North America, paid the following
tribute, "Geoff Lawson was one of those people who come along too rarely in
life.  He was wonderfully creative and inventive.  Much more important, he was
a great friend to many of us on the Jaguar team.  Funny, self deprecating and
warm, he was enormously patient with our comments on his designs and made
everyone feel they had contributed to the final result.
    "His legacy will live forever in the beautiful cars he designed, each of
which carries what Geoff so cogently described as the 'Jaguar DNA.'
    "This is a tragic loss for both his family and Jaguar."
    Lawson was well known for his diverse hobbies and interests, which
included American cars, guns and shooting, model making, guitar playing and
guitar design, mountain biking, abstract art and sculpture.
    He leaves a wife and two children.