Corvette’s Next Chapter Falls to Former Cadillac Blackwing Engineer Tony Roma

Just five people have had the honor of being the Chevrolet Corvette’s chief engineer. Tadge Juechter, the most recent and perhaps the one who has had the toughest job to date—debuting the long-awaited mid-engine C8 Corvette and its various derivatives—stepped down earlier this summer after 47 years with GM and more than 30 with Corvette, leaving perhaps the biggest shoes in the automotive industry.

Thanks to a report from Automotive News, we know who will step into those Pilotis. Tony Roma, formerly the chief engineer for the Cadillac Celestiq ultra-luxury electric sedan, was named by Chevrolet as the new leader of the Corvette development team late last week.

According to the announcement, Roma will succeed Juechter as the new executive chief engineer for General Motors’ Corvette and high-performance cars team on July 1.

“Tony is a natural fit to succeed Tadge, as well as the perfect choice to lead our new Global Corvette and Performance Cars team, given his many years working on Corvette powertrains and his more recent experience with the Cadillac V-Series, Blackwing, and Celestiq,” said GM President Mark Reuss in a statement quoted by AN. “The bar is set very high for Corvette. Tony knows that, and he’s more than up to the challenge; he was made for this moment. I see a great future for Corvette and the other vehicles that Tony’s team will create.”

The Corvette’s future is arriving rather quickly; the supercar-slaying C8 Corvette ZR1 is arriving later this summer. It’s the first time we’re likely to see forced induction on the mid-engine C8 platform, a trait that should offer properly absurd levels of performance.

Roma’s bonafides are no joke. He’s previously worked on multiple Corvette variants and owns several Vettes. Perhaps more impressively, his engineering expertise helped shape the Cadillac V-Series cars and the Blackwing models that followed into some of the most impressive track and backroad slayers ever. He’s one of a few people within GM certified to drive flat-out at Germany’s Nürburging, a developmental dreamhouse but a frighteningly exacting track.

“I’m approaching this opportunity with deep respect and admiration for the hard work from those who came before me, going back to the first-generation Corvette in the 1950s up to this day,” Roma said in a statement. “Corvette earned and continues to earn its place in American car history thanks to the people behind it, like Tadge Juechter. These are big shoes to fill, but we will work every day to continue the strong legacy this nameplate deserves.”

Multiple staff members, including myself, have had interactions with Roma through the years, and the one thing that seems universal across our team’s impressions of him is that in every situation, he came across as an unabashed performance car fanatic. We’re eager to see where he takes this beloved American nameplate; it sure seems like those shoes will fit nicely.

***

Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.