2025 model Corvettes and beyond get special emblem honoring longtime chief engineer

General Motors will honor the man long behind Chevrolet's iconic Corvette with a special emblem on the cars — starting on 2025 models — to recognize his 31 years of influence on the sports car.

GM announced that news late Thursday, when it revealed the latest Corvette, the 2025 ZR1, at a private event in Miami. The ZR1 now holds the title for the "the most powerful V8 ever produced in America from an auto manufacturer," GM said.

The Corvette ZR1 produces 1,064 horsepower and 828 pound-feet of torque and "more than 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speed," GM said.

GM has not announced pricing for the ZR1 yet, but a July 26 Forbes article states "with the 670 horsepower Z06 costing around $115,000, it’s realistic to assume a price for the Corvette ZR1 around $150,000. That’s a lot of car for the money, though they won’t go for that kind of money. Let’s be honest, dealers will charge, and first-on-the-blockers will pay, north of $300,000 for the first ZR1 to hit lots."

The vehicle, GM said, is meant to celebrate the career and legacy of Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter.

In April, GM announced that Juechter, 67, would retire this summer after a 47-year career at GM, 31 years of which were devoted to the Corvette.

Tony Roma, who most recently was the chief engineer for the electric Cadillac Celestiq, succeeded Juechter on July 1. GM said Roma has worked on the Corvette program and Cadillac's performance cars in the past. GM says that Roma is certified to drive on the Nürburgring, where he has accumulated more than 1,500 laps during "industry-pool" sessions. That's when carmakers test their cars during development. In June, Car and Driver reported that Roma raced in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in a Cupra Leon.

To mark Juechter's influence on the iconic car, GM said it will include a special graphic of Juechter's bust on the rear glass of the 2025 Corvette ZR1 coupe. The graphic will be on the top left of the ZR1’s split rear window.

“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,” GM President Mark Reuss said in a statement. “ZR1, and all Corvettes that follow, will wear this symbol commemorating his immense contributions and celebrating his legacy forever.”

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The icon of appreciation will be on 2025 model year Corvettes and beyond, GM said. It will be on the front windshield glass and front tunnel reinforcement panel beneath every Corvette Stingray, Z06, E-Ray, and ZR1. Juechter follows Zora Arkus-Duntov, Corvette’s first chief engineer, who is currently featured on all production Corvette windshields.

Some of the highlights of Juechter's career include his work developing the C7 and C8 Corvettes. The C8 was the first midengine Corvette since the model's introduction in 1953. Under his leadership, the Corvette Stingray was named to Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars list in 2015. In 2019, the Corvette ZR1 was named Road and Track Performance Car of the Year. In 2020, Juechter was named All-Star for product engineering by Automotive News and the Corvette won North American Car of the Year. Most recently, in 2023, Corvette Z06 was named Performance Car of the Year by MotorTrend and Corvette won Car and Driver 10 Best.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.