Chevrolet Corvette Boss Retires

Chevrolet Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter will retire at the end of this summer, General Motors announced Wednesday. A replacement will be announced at a later date, GM said in a press release.

Juechter began his career at GM in 1977, working at the Road Town, Ohio assembly plant, and joined the Corvette engineering team in 1993, working under then-Chief Engineer Dave Hill on the C5 and C6 Corvettes, and in 1999 he was appointed assistant chief engineer for Corvette.

He was then promoted to Executive Chief Engineer of Corvette in 2006, effectively making him responsible for the engineering of the sports car. In this role, he oversaw the development and launch of the C7 and C8 Corvettes, the C8 being the first mid-engine production Corvette and the first mid-engine Corvette to make the sports car more competitive on the track, a dream that Zora Arkus-Duntov, known as the "Father of Corvette," The dream he pushed for was realized.

"It was the honor of a lifetime to work for this company. I know that the future of this car name is in the right hands."

GM confirmed that the upcoming ZR1, which is scheduled to be unveiled this summer, will "reflect the most recent involvement" of Juechter; GM had teased the C8 ZR1 earlier this month without revealing further details. Rumors also suggest a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V-8 engine for the C8 Z06, and GM's parts catalog lists a turbo adapter for a 5.5-liter V-8 engine called the LT7 (the Z06's engine is the LT6).

Expect the C8 ZR1 to surpass the 755 hp of its predecessor, the C7 ZR1. That version of the ZR1 established a high standard of performance and won Motor Authority's "Best Car to Buy 2019" award.