Talk of the new Chevy Corvette ZR1 ain’t over yet. There’s one more thing to share: an Easter egg of the GM engineering icon who is responsible for developing the car we’re currently drooling over. Tadge Juechter is the executive chief engineer of Corvette and will be retiring this summer after 47 years at General Motors. It’s the last 31 years, however, that will be immortalized on every new Corvette ad infinitum, starting with the all-new ZR1.
A special graphic of Juechter’s face will debut on the rear glass of the coupe, specifically the top left corner of the vehicle’s split rear window. Other 2025 model-year Corvettes will feature the graphic on the front windshield. The Corvette Stingray, Z06, E-Ray, and ZR1 will also feature Juechter’s image on the front tunnel reinforcement panel.
Juechter joined GM in 1977 and began working on the Corvette program in 1993. For the same reasons the Corvette is America’s favorite sports car, Juechter saw something he liked and never left. Juechter worked on five generations of the Corvette, most notably leading the development of the C7 and C8. The switch to mid-engine with the C8? That was him. The 1,064-horsepower behemoth that was unveiled this week? Also him.
“Tadge made our vehicles and our company better every day that he came to work, for nearly five decades, with his career culminating in the fastest, most powerful Corvette of them all,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “ZR1, and all Corvettes that follow, will wear this symbol commemorating his immense contributions and celebrating his legacy forever.”
Throughout the years, the vehicle racked up countless awards. The Corvette is no stranger to top-ten, best-of, and of-the-year distinctions. But Juechter himself has also been recognized for his engineering excellence, earning his own “of the year” award when Automobile dubbed him Man of the Year in 2014. No coincidence that the Corvette was the publication’s Automobile of the Year as well. In 2020, Automotive News named Juechter an All Star for product engineering.
Born in Texas, Juechter was the son of an Air Force fighter pilot. As a military brat, he moved around a lot. Eventually, though, Juechter kept still long enough to graduate from Stanford with degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering as well as an MBA. Ironically, Juechter spent two college summers working for GM, after which he realized he didn’t want to work for the company. Ah, lucky for us, the car gods had other plans. Juechter now considers being a GM lifer a badge of honor.
Juechter joins Zora Arkus-Duntov, the legendary GM engineer known as the Father of the Corvette, to be recognized with an “icon of appreciation.” An image of Arkus-Duntov has appeared on the windshield of all production Corvettes since 2020.