Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter to Retire

Five men, heroes all to the automotive culture in general and the Corvette community in particular: Zora Arkus-Duntov, Dave McLellan, Dave Hill, Tom Wallace, and Tadge Juechter.

The Chevrolet Corvette has only had five chief engineers, and Tadge Juechter, the current one, announced his retirement today. It will take place later this summer.

Juechter, 63, will leave behind a 43-year career working for General Motors. He started with GM in 1977, at the Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant.

He transferred to Corvette in 1993. "It's been the honor of a lifetime to work at this company, leading the men and women who have brought to life one of the most iconic and recognizable vehicles in recent American history," Juechter said in a statement. "Their tenacity and ability to push what is possible with every variant and generation of Corvette was inspiring to see. I know the future of the nameplate is in the right hands."

Juechter worked for chief engineers Dave Hill and Tom Wallace before being named to the job himself. Juechter did not bring as strong of a motorsports background to the job as some of the chief engineers he succeeded, but he's responsible for the biggest change in Corvette history-moving the platform from front-engine to mid-engine-and seamlessly dovetailing that into the Corvette C8.R mid-engine race car.

After launching the C5 and C6, Juechter was appointed to what he described as "the promotion of a lifetime," as executive chief engineer for Corvette. In this role, he led the development of the 7th- and mid-engine 8th- generation cars, including the Corvette E-Ray plug-in hybrid.

"His most recent involvement will be reflected in the upcoming ZR1, which Chevy teased earlier this month and is expected to be revealed this summer," said Chevrolet, but you can be certain that when the C9 Corvette debuts, it will have Juechter's fingerprints on it.

Chevrolet has not named Juechter's successor, and it may be a bit complicated, as Josh Holder was named Corvette chief engineer in 2020, while the retiring Juechter is, as mentioned above, executive chief engineer. Whether Holder gets Juechter's job, and his title, remains to be seen.

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