The boss of Chevrolet Corvette is retiring

Chevrolet Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter is retiring, effective later this summer, General Motors announced Wednesday, ending his 47-year career with the company. A replacement will be announced later, GM said in a press release.

Juechter began his career with GM in 1977, working in the Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant. He joined the Corvette engineering team in 1993, worked on the C5 and C6 Corvettes under then-chief engineer Dave Hill, and was named Corvette’s assistant chief engineer in 1999.

He was then promoted to chief executive engineer of the Corvette in 2006, putting him in charge of sports car engineering. In this role, he oversaw the development and launch of the C7 and C8 Corvettes. The C8 is the first mid-engine Corvette production model, fulfilling the dream of Zora Arkus-Duntov, known as the “father of the Corvette,” who pushed the mid-engine ‘Vette to make the sports car more competitive on the track.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to work for this company,” Juechter said in a statement.I know the future of the nameplate is in the right hands.”

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

GM confirmed that “Juechter’s involvement will soon be reflected in the upcoming ZR1,” which will be unveiled this summer. GM teased the C8 ZR1 earlier this month without revealing additional details. Rumors point to a turbo-charged version of the 5.5-liter V-8 found in the C8 Z06, something that was also hinted at by a listing in the GM parts catalog for a turbocharged 5.5-liter V-8 known as the LT7 (the Z06 engine is designated the LT6 ).

Expect the C8 ZR1 to top the previous generation C7 ZR1’s 755 hp. The ZR1 version set a high water mark for performance and took home the 2019 Authority Best Buy award.